"I am" vs. "I have"
En español, I would say "Estoy cansada" to indicate that I am tired but "Tengo hambre." to say I am hungry... which literally translates to "I have hunger" correct?
My question is: Are there any rules to follow, or is it simply a matter of memorizing when it is appropriate to use one or the other?
Thanks for any insight you can provide!
4 Answers
Like lorenzo said, you have nouns and you have adjectives, it just depends on how you want to express yourself. You really shouldn't try to translate literally but take the phrases for what they are.
Tengo hambre (noun) Espresses the thought that I am hungry.
Estoy hambriento/a (adjective) Literally says that I am hungry, or colloquially, I am starving.
My question is: Are there any rules to follow, or is it simply a matter of memorizing when it is appropriate to use one or the other?
There are a lot of "idiomatic" usages of tener that you could memorize, I don't know if there are any 'rules' governing them. However, the more you use them the more familiar they will become (Tener que, Tener hambre, Tener años, etc).
You have nouns and you are adjectives, just like in English.
I don't think that there is a rule. You just need to memorize them.
BTW: "Tengo sueño" = "I am sleepy"
Sí pues son reglas por ejem:
I have an orange = tengo una naranja.
Entonces se escribiría tengo 32 años: "I have 32 years" ¿?
Pues no, es: I am 32 years old. Literalmente "soy 32 años". Es la forma, yo tampoco sé porqué varía, pero es como se escribe y hay que seguirla.
