Spanish: Haber versus Tener
From UniLang Wiki
Haber and Tener are easily seperated. Haber is an auxiliary verb only, it can only occur as an auxiliary verb. Verbal constructions like the following use Haber:
- I have eaten - He comido
- He had understood - Hubo comprendido
Tener on the other hand is not an auxiliary verb and does never occur in such verbal constructions, the only verbal construction it occurs in is the following, where TENER QUE is analagous to HAVE TO and expresses obligation/necessity:
- I have to eat - Tengo que comer
Tener is most often used to indicate possession, something that HABER can never do:
- I have a dog - Tengo un perro
- We have two houses - Tenemos dos casas
