tener or haber

Question

When does a person use the verb tener or haber?

Answer 1

Tener: When someone / something posesses something, ie: Tengo dinero en el banco (I have money in the bank).

Haber: Something exists or an unnamed thing has something, ie: Hay dinero en el banco (There is money in the bank).

Answer 2

Haber is also used to form the present perfect tense, which is used in the same manner as he English present perfect.

I have eaten--- He comido

You have seen.---Has visto.

He/she/Usted----have/has written. ----Ha escrito.

We have arrived.---Hemos llegado.

You-all (Spain only) have played. -----Habéis jugado.

They/Ustedes have travelled. -----Han viajado.

I thought I would just keep it simple. A good teacher doesn't load his/her students up on the whole Spanish language on the first day or first week either. It takes two years of college instruction just to get up to high intermediate. - Daniela2041, Jun 13, 2017

Answer 3

Here is an interesting thought on the contrast:

Haber: He hecho la tarea. I have done the homework. I completed it.

Tener: Tengo hecha la tarea. I have the homework done. It is (in my possession in essence) in a state of completion.

Note hecho vs. hecha as well as the verb. The first the past participle is a past participle, in the second it is used as an adjective.

I am an intermediate level learner. I would defer to other comments on this contrast.

yes, he hecho but tengo hecha. - polenta1, Jun 12, 2017

Interesting that in English we get the shade of meaning simply with word order- "I have it done" vs. "I have done it". :) - bosquederoble, Jun 13, 2017