Do I use tenga or tengo?
I have a Spanish assessment to memorize, but I may have made a mistake and I wanted to verify the correct translation. I put "Cuando tenga dieciocho años terminaré el colegio...", but should I have used tengo instead of tenga?
Many thanks for your help.
4 Answers
When cuando refers to something that has not yet happened, you use subjunctive.
When it refers to something that has happened, or something that is a habitual action- has happened and will go on happening, even though all instances have not happened you use indicative.
The use of future (terminaré) in the other part puts it as a future not yet happened event, you are not yet 18, so yes, I would choose tenga.
See III here:
When using "cuando" if what happens is still future, you need the subjunctive.
So, "Cuando tenga dieciocho años terminaré mis estudios universitarios. "Colegio has an entirely different meaning in Spanish. "Colegio" is sort of a generic word for "high school" in many countries. In California Spanish, however they used it for College. However in Spanish you don't "terminate" the college. You terminate or finish your studies there.
Tu pregunta me recordó una canción de Rocío Durcal, una famosa cantante española de los años sesenta, que se llama Tengo 17 años. Dice así:
Tengo 17 años de enfermedad
Cuando tenga 18 se me quitará
Your question reminded me of a song by Rocío Durcal, a famous Spanish singer of the sixties, called I'm 17 years old.
Tengo 17 años de enfermedad
Cuando tenga 18 se me quitará
I can't translate this lyrics into English. But the sense is aproximately this:
I have been sick for 17 years
I'll be cured when I turned 18
1- Most definitely Daniela2041 and bosquederoble are right. You should use the subjunctive "tenga". "Cuando tenga 18 años terminaré el colegio".
2- The sentence above is perfect in the classical Spanish spoken in Spain. There, "colegio" is whatever school level before College/University. The word has other meanings not directly linked to your question.
3- Anyway, "colegio" in many Latin American countries is not used as an equivalent of School, in fact it's not used at all with that meaning. They prefer "escuela".
"Cuando tenga 18 años terminaré la escuela".
4- On the other hand, in the US you usually hear the word "colegio" used as an equivalent for "College or university". That's not correct. It is just a mistake that has become usual because of the strong influence of English.
5- Finally, "Terminar el colegio" is a phrase that is perfectly acceptable, understood, widely used and preferred by Spanish speakers n order to express that in a simple way, meaning, of course, to finish your studies. Anyway, it should not be translated into English as "To terminate the High School", but "To graduate from the High School".
