Haver and Tenir in Catalan

In Brief

English have splits into two main verbs in Catalan. Use tenir for possession and many personal states: Tinc dos germans (“I have two siblings”), Tinc son (“I am sleepy”). Use haver as an auxiliary verb (a helping verb used to build a tense) and in the fixed existential expression hi ha, which means both “there is” and “there are.”

Overview

Haver and tenir are two high-frequency irregular verbs, but they do different jobs. The beginner rule is simple: tenir normally answers “what does someone have?”, while hi ha introduces the existence or presence of something. Compare La Marta té un gat (“Marta has a cat”) with Hi ha un gat al jardí (“There is a cat in the garden”).

This distinction matters especially to English speakers because English uses have for possession and as an auxiliary. Catalan does not: possession belongs to tenir, while haver helps form compound tenses such as he menjat (“I have eaten”). Catalan also uses tenir in several places where English uses be, including age and expressions such as being hungry, sleepy, cold, or right.

At A1, focus on the present tense of tenir and the invariable expression hi ha. You should also learn to recognise the present auxiliary forms of haver. Later, these forms become the foundation of the Catalan present perfect and several other verb constructions.

How It Works

The present tense of tenir

Tenir means “to have,” “to possess,” or “to hold.” It is irregular: its singular forms and third-person plural form do not follow a simple regular -ir pattern.

Person	Catalan	English
jo	tinc	I have
tu	tens	you have (singular, informal)
ell / ella / vostè	té	he / she has; you have (formal)
nosaltres	tenim	we have
vosaltres	teniu	you have (plural)
ells / elles / vostès	tenen	they have; you have (formal plural)

Catalan often leaves out the subject pronoun because the verb ending already identifies the person. Both Jo tinc temps and Tinc temps mean “I have time,” but the shorter version is normally more natural unless jo is being contrasted with someone else.

Notice the written accent in té (“has”). The unaccented word te is a pronoun meaning “you” in forms such as et/te; the accent keeps these words distinct in writing.

Tenir for possession and relationships

Use tenir for things, characteristics, family relationships, and resources that belong to or are associated with a person or thing:

• Tinc una bicicleta. — I have a bicycle.
• Té els ulls verds. — He/She has green eyes.
• Tenim tres fills. — We have three children.
• El pis té dos balcons. — The apartment has two balconies.
• Tens temps ara? — Do you have time now?

For family words, a plural such as germans can mean “brothers” or “siblings” when the group is male or mixed. If all the siblings are female, use germanes.

Tenir where English uses “be”

Many common Catalan descriptions are built with tenir + noun rather than “to be + adjective.” A noun names a person, thing, feeling, or idea; here, words such as gana and son function as things that someone “has.”

Catalan expression	Literal idea	Natural English
tenir gana / tenir fam	to have hunger	to be hungry
tenir set	to have thirst	to be thirsty
tenir son	to have sleepiness	to be sleepy
tenir fred / calor	to have cold / heat	to be cold / hot
tenir por	to have fear	to be afraid
tenir pressa	to have hurry	to be in a hurry
tenir raó	to have reason	to be right
tenir sort	to have luck	to be lucky
tenir ... anys	to have ... years	to be ... years old

These are fixed patterns, so translating the English verb be directly produces unnatural Catalan. Say Tinc vint anys, not Soc vint anys. Both tenir gana and tenir fam can express hunger; tenir gana is an especially useful everyday phrase, while fam can also refer to hunger more generally or intensely.

Hi ha: “there is” and “there are”

The infinitive of the existential construction is haver-hi. An existential construction simply says that something exists or is present. In the present tense, its standard form is hi ha:

hi ha + thing or person + optional place/time

• Hi ha una farmàcia al carrer Major. — There is a pharmacy on Carrer Major.
• Hi ha quatre cadires a la cuina. — There are four chairs in the kitchen.

The form hi ha does not change for number. It is hi ha un problema and hi ha dos problemes. The small word hi is an essential part of this construction; do not say only ha un problema.

Negation places no before the whole verb expression:

• No hi ha llet. — There is no milk.
• No hi ha autobusos avui. — There are no buses today.

For a yes/no question, the word order can stay the same; speech intonation and the question mark show that it is a question:

• Hi ha wifi? — Is there Wi-Fi?
• Hi ha places lliures? — Are there any free seats?

Do not confuse hi ha with té. Hi ha una terrassa introduces a terrace that exists somewhere. L’hotel té una terrassa assigns that terrace to the hotel.

Haver as an auxiliary

An auxiliary is a helping verb placed before another verb form. Catalan uses haver with a past participle (a form such as parlat, “spoken,” or menjat, “eaten”) to make compound tenses. Its present forms are:

Person	Form of haver	Example
jo	he	he parlat — I have spoken
tu	has	has menjat — you have eaten
ell / ella / vostè	ha	ha arribat — he/she has arrived
nosaltres	hem	hem acabat — we have finished
vosaltres	heu	heu vist — you have seen
ells / elles / vostès	han	han sortit — they have gone out

These forms do not express possession by themselves. English “I have a car” is Tinc un cotxe, never He un cotxe. At A1, recognising the auxiliary forms is enough; their tense use is studied fully with the Present Perfect.

Examples in Context

Catalan	English	Note
Hi ha un parc aquí a prop.	There is a park nearby.	Hi ha introduces a place that exists.
Hi ha dues finestres a l’habitació.	There are two windows in the room.	The form stays singular even before a plural noun.
No hi ha sucre.	There is no sugar.	Put no before hi ha.
Hi ha un banc per aquí?	Is there a bank around here?	A natural question when asking for a place.
Jo tinc dos germans.	I have two siblings.	Jo may be omitted unless it is emphasised.
La Núria té una bicicleta nova.	Núria has a new bicycle.	Possession uses tenir.
El nostre apartament té molta llum.	Our apartment gets/has a lot of light.	A thing can also be the subject of tenir.
Tens fam?	Are you hungry?	Literally, “Do you have hunger?”
Tinc gana, però no tinc set.	I’m hungry, but I’m not thirsty.	Two physical-state expressions.
Els nens tenen son.	The children are sleepy.	The plural subject takes tenen.
Quants anys tens? — En tinc trenta.	How old are you? — I’m thirty.	Age uses tenir; en stands for the understood “years.”
Tens raó: avui és dimarts.	You’re right: today is Tuesday.	Tenir raó means “to be right.”
Tenim pressa perquè el tren surt aviat.	We’re in a hurry because the train leaves soon.	A common fixed expression.
He acabat la feina.	I have finished the work.	He is an auxiliary, not possession.
Han arribat els convidats.	The guests have arrived.	Han agrees with the plural subject.

Common Mistakes

Using haver for possession

• Wrong: He una germana.
• Right: Tinc una germana.
• Why: Although English says “I have,” Catalan possession requires tenir. He only helps to form a compound tense, as in he parlat.

Making hi ha plural

• Wrong in the standard language: Hi han tres restaurants.
• Right: Hi ha tres restaurants.
• Why: Existential haver-hi is impersonal: it has no ordinary subject controlling the verb. Standard Catalan therefore keeps ha singular, even when the following noun is plural. Plural agreement is heard colloquially in some areas, but learners should use the standard invariant form.

Dropping hi

• Wrong: Ha una parada davant de l’hotel.
• Right: Hi ha una parada davant de l’hotel.
• Why: Hi is not optional in the existential expression hi ha.

Translating English “be” literally

• Wrong: Soc trenta anys. / Estic fam.
• Right: Tinc trenta anys. / Tinc fam or Tinc gana.
• Why: Catalan treats age and many physical states as things a person “has.” Learn each expression as a complete phrase with tenir.

Confusing té and hi ha

• Wrong: A la plaça té una font.
• Right: A la plaça hi ha una font.
• Why: Use hi ha to say that something is present in a location. Use té when a stated owner or possessor is the subject: La plaça té una font antiga is possible when the square itself is presented as having that feature.

Forgetting the accent in té

• Wrong: Ella te molta paciència.
• Right: Ella té molta paciència.
• Why: The third-person form of tenir is written té. The accent distinguishes it from the pronoun te.

Usage Notes

Subject pronouns are usually optional

Catalan verb endings normally make the subject clear, so Tinc fred is more neutral than Jo tinc fred. Add the pronoun for contrast or emphasis: Jo tinc fred, però ella té calor (“I’m cold, but she’s hot”). The same applies to auxiliary haver: Hem arribat usually needs no nosaltres.

Choosing between tenir and hi ha

English sometimes allows both “there is” and “has” around the same idea, but Catalan keeps the viewpoint clear:

• Al poble hi ha una biblioteca. — There is a library in the town.
• El poble té una biblioteca. — The town has a library.

Both can describe the same reality. The first presents the library’s existence or location; the second presents it as a feature of the town.

Gana and fam

For an immediate desire to eat, tenir gana is a very common neutral choice. Tenir fam is also valid, and fam is the usual noun when discussing hunger as deprivation: la fam al món (“world hunger”). At beginner level, either phrase in the concept examples is understandable, but learning tenir gana will give you an especially frequent everyday expression.

Beyond the Basics: Advanced Use

You do not need to master these patterns at A1, but they show why both verbs remain important later.

Haver-hi in other tenses

The existential construction can refer to the past or future. In the standard language, it remains impersonal and therefore stays singular regardless of what follows.

Catalan	English	Time reference
Hi havia molta gent.	There were many people.	background or ongoing past
Ahir hi va haver un accident.	There was an accident yesterday.	completed past event
Hi haurà canvis aviat.	There will be changes soon.	future
Hi ha hagut un error.	There has been an error.	present perfect

With quantities, Catalan often uses the pronoun en, meaning roughly “of them/of it”: Quantes cadires hi ha? — N’hi ha sis (“How many chairs are there? — There are six”). The combination n’hi ha is best learned as a unit at first.

Obligation with haver de

Haver de + infinitive expresses necessity or obligation. An infinitive is the basic dictionary form of a verb, such as anar (“to go”).

• He de marxar. — I have to leave.
• Has d’estudiar. — You have to study.
• Hem de comprar pa. — We need to buy bread.

The apostrophe in has d’estudiar appears because de is shortened before a vowel. This construction does not mean possession, even though English again uses “have.”

Compound tenses and participle agreement

In the basic present perfect, haver changes with the subject while the following participle normally appears in its standard form: he comprat les entrades, han comprat les entrades. In more advanced and careful usage, a participle may agree in gender and number with a preceding direct-object weak pronoun, especially with feminine forms: Les entrades, ja les he comprades (“The tickets—I have already bought them”). A direct object is the person or thing directly affected by the action. Usage varies, so beginners should first master the stable haver + participle pattern.

Broader meanings of tenir

Beyond straightforward ownership, tenir can mean “hold,” “keep,” or “maintain,” depending on its complement:

• Té el nen als braços. — She is holding the child in her arms.
• Tingues la porta oberta. — Keep the door open.
• Tenim una reunió demà. — We have a meeting tomorrow.

Later tenses also preserve an irregular stem: tindré (“I will have”), tindria (“I would have”), and tingui (a present subjunctive form). These belong to more advanced verb study, but recognising the shared tin-/ten-/tind-/ting- family can make them easier to remember.

Practice Tips

1. Sort English “have” sentences into two groups. Put possession and personal states under tenir (tinc un cotxe, tinc son), and completed actions under auxiliary haver (he menjat). Add a third group for existence with hi ha.
2. Describe one room twice. First list what is present: Hi ha una taula i quatre cadires. Then make the room or home the owner: El menjador té una taula gran. This trains the difference in viewpoint.
3. Learn expressions as full chunks. Say the six persons aloud with one phrase: tinc gana, tens gana, té gana, tenim gana, teniu gana, tenen gana. Repeat with son, pressa, and raó rather than memorising tenir in isolation.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Subject Pronouns — helps you connect each irregular verb form with its subject.
• Related vocabulary: Body and Health — extends tenir into practical expressions such as tenir febre.
• Next step: Present Perfect (Perfet d’Indicatiu) — develops auxiliary haver with past participles in full.