The Free Multi-Language Online Dictionary From Ultralingua

Special uses of tener, deber, and haber

Tener
Deber
Haber

It should be mentioned that, although tener means "to have," it is usually used in the sense of "to possess," and it is never used, such as haber, as an auxiliary verb in a compound tense.

The use of the verb tener + que conveys obligation. It means "to have to do" something.
- Tengo que levantarme temprano. (I have to get up early.)
- ¿No tienes que llamar a tu papá? (Don't you have to call your father?)
The tener que use is similar to hay que (one must), except that the former is more personalized.
If, however, tener and que are separated the expression loses much of its force.
- Tengo mucho que decirte. (I have a lot to tell you.)
- Tengo poco que hacer hoy. (I have little to do today.)
Tener can also precede the past participle. The result is much the same as the use of estar + past participle, but the subject is much more personalized.
- Tienen escritas sus composiciones. (They have their compositions written.)
There are a number of idiomatic expressions that employ tener. In general they all refer to physical or mental states, and the formula is tener + noun. To emphasize the state one uses mucho/a. Following is a table of the most common expressions, along with their English equivalents.

tener...años -- to be...years old
tener ganas de... -- to feel like...
tener calor -- to be warm/hot
tener miedo -- to be afraid
tener cuidado -- to be careful
tener razón -- to be right
tener frío -- to be cold
tener sed -- to be thirsty
tener hambre -- to be hungry
tener sueño -- to be sleepy

Examples:

Tiene quince años. (She is fifteen years old.)

Tengo hambre. (I am hungry.)

Tengo mucha sed. (I am very thirsty.)

Deber

The verb deber (should, ought) is similar to tener, but deber implies less compulsion and more of a sense of obligation. In the present tense deber attempts to exert strong obligation but not compulsion.
- Debes llegar a tiempo. (You should arrive on time.)
The use of deber in the conditional or imperfect subjunctive lessens the sense of obligation:
- Deberías/Debieras llegar a tiempo. (You really ought to arrive on time.)
Deber (de) is often used as a substitute for the future of probability:
- Debe (de) estar lloviendo ahora. (It's probably raining by now.)

Haber

The primary use of haber is as an auxiliary verb in the construction of compound verbs, but the other uses of the verb are the subject of this segment.

There is, of course, the ubiquitous use of hay, the impersonal present tense form of haber that means "there is" or "there are." Note how hay and other impersonal forms of haber are used in the following sentences:
- Hay mucho que hacer todavía. (There is still much to do.)
- Hay muchas ovejas en la calle. (There are many sheep in the street.)
- Había mucha tarea que hacer. (There was a lot of work to do.)
- Hubo muchos accidentes. (There were many accidents.)
- Habrá dificultades en el futuro. (In the future there will be trouble.)
- Habría harto tiempo. (There would be time to spare.)
- Espero que no haya problemas. (I hope there are no problems.)
- Tenía miedo de que los hubiera. (I feared that there would be.)
The impersonal hay is also used with visual weather conditions.
- Hay muchas nubes. (It's very cloudy.)
- Por fin hay sol. (At last it's sunny.)
Hay que, another impersonal use of haber, means "one must" or "it is necessary." As above, the expression can appear in any tense.
- Hay que hacerlo ahora mismo. (One must do it immediately.)
- Había que despedir al empleado. (It was necessary to let the employee go.)
The use of haber de can be expressed in any person and a variety of tenses. It's usual meaning is along the lines of "I am to..."
- He de enseñar la clase a las dos. (I am to teach the class at two o'clock.)
- Habían de llegar ayer. (They were to arrive yesterday.)

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