What is the difference between haber and tener

Question

If tener means to have and haber means to have, how do I know when I should use tener and when I should use haber?

Good question. - danrivera, Jun 23, 2011

Answer 1

"To have" in the sense of "to possess" is tener. Haber is usually used much as the English "to have" as an auxiliary verb with the past participle. Tengo tres libros, I have three books. He leído tres libros, I have read three books. That difference is straightforward. But both verbs can also be used with que to indicate necessity. Tener que followed by an infinitive means "to have to," while hay que (hay is a form of haber) also expresses necessity but doesn't specify who is performing the action. Tengo que leer tres libros, I have to read three books. Hay que leer tres libros, three books have to be read (or, it is necessary to read three books).. A future lesson will more thoroughly discuss the uses of haber. Both tener and haber are irregular. Hope that helps you.

Jinx, you owe me a Coke (if you know that retort) We posted the same citation. - 0074b507, Jun 23, 2011

Very good eltennis...it is so much better when example sentences are used. - foxluv, Jun 23, 2011

Answer 2

Welcome to the forum! A very understandable question. Needless to say, you're not the first to wonder about this.

Follow this link: haber v tener

and take it from there.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Haber y tener: To have and to own.