Expressions with tener

Tengo mucha hambre

As you know, the Spanish verb tener means to have.

Tengo muchos amigos – I have many friends

It’s used so often, that it forms some very common set phrases, that you should learn.

tener calor

tener calor – to be hot

Tengo calor – I’m hot

¿Tienes calor cuando el aire acondicionado está apagado? – Are you hot, when the air conditioner is off?

The word calor is a noun. If you want to say I’m very hot, use mucho.

Tengo mucho calor – I’m very hot

Don’t say: Tengo muy calor

Tener calor is used to say that someone experiences heat. It’s different from estar caliente.

La sopa está muy caliente – The soup is very hot

Try it yourself:

It’s 30 degrees. I’m very hot

tener frío

tener frío – to be cold

¿Qué te pasa? ¿Tienes frío? – What’s happening to you? Are you cold?

Uff, ¡qué frío tenemos! – Phew, how cold we are!

Try it yourself:

I want to drink a hot coffee, I’m very cold

tener hambre

tener hambre – to be hungry

No puedo ver estas imágenes, tengo hambre – I can’t look at these images, I’m hungry

¿Tienes mucha hambre? Es que aquí no hay cafés – Are you hungry? The thing is that there are no cafes here

By the way, the noun hambre is feminine.

Try it yourself:

I’m very hungry

tener sed

tener sed – to be thirsty

No puedo más, tengo sed – I can’t stand it anymore, I’m thirsty

Los peces nunca tienen sed, porque viven en el agua, ¿verdad? – The fish are never thirsty, because they live in the water, right?

The noun sed is feminine, as well.

¿Tienes mucha sed? Podemos tomar un refresco – Are you thirsty? We can have some soft drink

Try it yourself:

The dog is thirsty after the walk

tener sueño

tener sueño – to be sleepy

No quiero trabajar, tengo sueño — I don’t want to work, I’m sleepy

Cuando Sebastián tiene mucho sueño, bosteza cada minuto — When Sebastian is sleepy, he yawns every minute

Try it yourself:

Are you sleepy?

tener miedo

tener miedo (de) – to be afraid, scared (of)

Tengo miedo de estar sola – I’m afraid to be alone

No tenemos miedo de volar en aviones – We aren’t afraid of flying on planes

Try it yourself:

Are you scared of spiders?

tener vergüenza

tener vergüenza (de) – to be ashamed, embarrassed (of)

Tengo vergüenza de andar desnuda por la calle – I’m ashamed of walking naked in the street

Ustedes tienen mucha vergüenza de hablar en español muy alto – You are very embarrassed of speaking Spanish very loudly

Try it yourself:

Carlos is never ashamed of anything

tener razón

tener razón – to be right

Tienes razón, aquí no se puede fumar – You are right, it’s not allowed to smoke here

Ves que tengo razón, esta mujer está casada – See that I’m right, this woman is married

Tienes mucha razón – You are so right

Try it yourself:

Patricia is right, it’s the best option

tener ganas

tener ganas (de) – to have a desire (to), to feel like

This is another common way of expressing a wish.

Manuel tiene ganas de ir a México — Manuel has a desire to go to Mexico

Tengo muchas ganas de comprar un portátil nuevo — I feel like buying a new laptop

For some reason, the verb querer (to want) is rarely used with mucho.

Normally, people don’t say like this:

Quiero mucho tomar el sol – I want a lot to sunbathe

Instead, they use tener muchas ganas:

Tengo muchas ganas de tomar el sol – I have much desire to sunbathe

Try it yourself:

I have much desire to visit Machu Picchu

Expressions with dar

Dar means to give. It can be used in similar expressions as tener, meaning it gives some kind of feeling. Unlike tener, dar takes the form of the third person and requires a dative pronoun: me da, te da, le da, nos da, os da, les da.

Expressions with dar have the same grammatical structure as sentences with gustar.

dar miedo – to be afraid

Literally, it gives fear.

Me da miedo la oscuridad – I’m scared of darkness. Darkness gives me fear

¿Te da miedo salir de casa? – Are you afraid of going outside?

Try it yourself:

Elena is afraid of being alone

dar vergüenza – to make somebody ashamed, embarrassed

It’s like tener vergüenza, but doesn’t require any preposition.

Me da vergüenza vestirme de mujer – It makes me embarrassed to wear women’s clothes.

Try it yourself:

Doesn’t your dirty car cause you embarrassment?

dar placer – to give pleasure

Me da mucho placer estar aquí – It gives me much pleasure to be here

Try it yourself:

It gives me pleasure to meet your parents

dar alegría – to give joy

Nos da alegría ver a nuestros primos – It gives us joy to see our cousins

Try it yourself:

Does being on vacation give you joy?

da igual – it does’t matter

¿Quieres ir a España o a Francia? – Do you want to go to Spain or France?

Da igual – It doesn’t matter

A Roberto le da igual qué coche comprar – Roberto doesn’t care, what car to buy

Try it yourself:

Do you prefer wine or beer?

It doesn’t matter to me