tener or haber correct?

Question

"Yo tenía entendido que pesabas temporadas aquí" Here the meaning is clear, but I expected to see haber used as a past perfect auxiliary verb. Yo había entendido... Is tener used in this auxiliary sense as well? Is there a difference in translating between the two uses?

Answer 1

See the sentences in bold:

Your case implies having it in possession in the mind.

https://www.123teachme.com/learn_spanish/spanish_verb_tener_intro

Present Indicative Verb Tener - to have

The verb is a word by which we affirm something. It is the essential word in a sentence: without it (expressed or understood) no sentence can be formed. Verbs are divided into Auxiliary, Transitive and Intransitive. The Auxiliary verbs in Spanish are: Haber, Tener, Ser, Estar.

Tener is generally a principal (not an auxiliary) verb, used to denote possession; but it is used sometimes as an auxiliary instead of haber, as:

• Tengo recibido su catálogo ilustrado y lista (or boletín) de precios. I have received your illustrated catalogue with price list.

• Tenemos recibida [2] su apreciable carta de 20 del que rige (or del corriente). We have received your favour of the 20th inst.

• ¿Tiene usted recibidas las cotizaciones? Have you received the quotations?

• Los presupuestos, que tenemos recibidos del Trapiche para nuestro Ingenio de la Habana.

The estimates which we have received for the Sugar Mill for our Factory in Havana. In all the preceding examples tener used instead of haber introduces an additional idea of possession.

"He recibido su carta" might be followed, in Spanish, by "pero la he perdido" (but I have lost it). "Tengo recibida su carta" implies that the receiver holds it now.

Footnote 2: The Past Part. following "tener" agrees in gender and number with the direct object.

Sometimes this idea of possession is very distantly implied, as:

• ¿Qué me dice Usted? tengo leído ese proyecto de Ley.

What are you talking about? I have read that (Parliamentary) Bill.

Meaning that the effect of the reading is extant in the mind.

Colloquially the people will use tener for haber without any allusion to possession, but this should be avoided.

Wow, Bosque thank uou for teachng me something new today...I never realized that tener could be used in that way! :) - FELIZ77, May 18, 2017

You don't see it that often. But you do see it. :) - bosquederoble, May 18, 2017

I don't have the nuance yet in my Spanish to ever think of using it myself. :) - bosquederoble, May 18, 2017

Thank you so much. Didn't know about this usage of tener. - RolloMartins, May 18, 2017

Answer 2

Tener entendido is an expression we often use. It means to think, to know, to believe , to suppose or to understand. You can use it in many tenses.

Tengo entendido que el expresidente Obama es abogado. I think or I've heard the former president Obama is a lawyer.

Él tenía entendido que el inglés era una asignatura obligatoria. He thought or believed etc. that English was a compulsory subject.

Nosotros tenemos entendido que Susana Giménez es una gran estrella del espectáculo argentino. We know or we've heard etc. that SG is a great show business star.

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Yo había entendido is a tense where "haber" is an auxiliary. It isn't like "tener entendido" an expression. Yo había entendido could mean something like I had understook.

Answer 3

Hello Rolio,

Thank you for your interesting question

You asked:

"Yo tenía entendido que pesabas temporadas aquí" Here the meaning is clear, but I expected to see haber used as a past perfect auxiliary verb. Yo había entendido... Is tener used in this auxiliary sense as well? Is there a difference in translating between the two uses?

Habia (infin: Haber) and tenia (infin: tener) as far as I understand are not interchangeable in giving the same meaning although their infinitive verb forms can both be used to mean to 'have'

Tener is used to mean to have, as in: to own or to possess, eg: Tienes un perro = You have (own) a perro, whereas haber is used by the Spanish to form the compound tense: to have done (something)

In addition, tenía is the imperfect indicative used to talk about an incompleta action in the past that you were doing/used to do, whereas había is the pluperfect (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo) that is translated as 'had' done eg: Ya habiamos comido cuando volvieron a casa. = We had already eaten when they returned home.

If you need a more detailed explanation please either wait for a native Spanish speaker or a more advanced student like Ken or Bosque whose understanding of the Spanish grammar currently far exceeds mine!

I hope this helps to give you some idea in the meantime.

Corrijan mi español si es necesario, por favor

There is so much traffic noise that I cannot think clearly anymore - FELIZ77, May 18, 2017