The imperfect tense of tener is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, as well as descriptions and states of being. For example, Yo tenía un perro cuando era niño. (I had a dog when I was a child.)

This verb follows the standard conjugation pattern for imperfect tense verbs ending in -ía. The conjugations are: tenía, tenías, tenía, teníamos, tenían.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Tener (to have) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The imperfect tense of tener is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, as well as descriptions and states of being.

Possession: For example, Antes tenía un perro (I used to have a dog).

Age: For example, Cuando era niño, tenía 10 años (When I was a child, I was 10 years old).

Obligation or necessity: For example, Tenía que estudiar para el examen (I had to study for the exam).

Idiomatic expressions: For example, No tenía ni idea (I had no idea, slang for being clueless). La tenía montada (I was really angry or upset, rude).

Descriptions: For example, Mi abuela tenía el pelo canoso (My grandmother had gray hair).

Repeated actions: For example, De niño, tenía la costumbre de comer dulces (As a child, I had the habit of eating sweets).

Examples

Examples of Tener in the Imperfect Tense

Yo tenía mucha hambre después de caminar todo el día. (I was very hungry after walking all day.)

Ellos tenían que trabajar hasta tarde para terminar el proyecto. (They had to work late to finish the project.)

¿Tenías planes para el fin de semana? (Did you have plans for the weekend?)

Nosotros teníamos una gran fiesta cada año en nuestro barrio. (We used to have a big party every year in our neighborhood.)

Ella tenía un perro muy cariñoso cuando era niña. (She had a very affectionate dog when she was a child.)

Mis amigos tenían la costumbre de reunirse los viernes por la noche. (My friends had the habit of getting together on Friday nights.)

¿Tenías suficiente dinero para comprar ese carro? (Did you have enough money to buy that car?)

Ellas tenían que estudiar mucho para aprobar el examen. (They had to study a lot to pass the exam.)

Yo tenía un trabajo de medio tiempo mientras estaba en la universidad. (I had a part-time job while I was in college.)

Nosotros teníamos una gran casa con un patio enorme. (We had a big house with a huge backyard.)

Él tenía la mala costumbre de llegar tarde a todas partes. (He had the bad habit of being late everywhere.)

Ustedes tenían razón, no debimos haber ido a esa fiesta. (You were right, we should not have gone to that party.)

Ellos tenían una relación muy complicada. (They had a very complicated relationship.)

¿Tenías algún problema con el servicio al cliente? (Did you have any issues with customer service?)

Nosotras teníamos que levantarnos muy temprano para ir al trabajo. (We had to get up very early to go to work.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Tener (to have) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Imperfect tense is also known as the Past Imperfect, Descriptive Past, Past Progressive, or Imperfect Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Imperfecto, Copretérito, Imperfecto de Indicativo, or Pasado Descriptivo in Spanish.