Having and there is in Portuguese: tenho and tem

The words: ter, tem, and three objects

Ter is the verb to have; you will not say ter itself in this lesson, only its two forms tenho and tem. Tem on its own is also the spoken there is. Livro (book) is masculine; mesa (table) and cadeira (chair) are feminine. Aqui means here. Listen to each word and repeat it.

• ter🔊have
• tem🔊there is
• livro🔊book
• mesa🔊table
• cadeira🔊chair
• aqui🔊here

In the room: a book and a chair

Two people are in a room. One asks whether the other has a book; the answer is no, but there is one on the table. Then one asks whether there is a chair here. Listen to the whole conversation first. Notice that tem appears four times, and only in Você tem um livro? does it mean someone owns something. The questions and Tem, sim. are here for you to understand; you will practise asking in a later lesson.

• A

  Você tem um livro?🔊

  Do you have a book?

• B

  Não tenho.🔊

  I don't have one.

• B

  Tem um livro na mesa.🔊

  There's a book on the table.

• A

  Tem uma cadeira aqui?🔊

  Is there a chair here?

• B

  Tem, sim.🔊

  Yes, there is.

What I have and what you have: tenho, tem

Eu tenho um livro. is I have a book. Tenho is the form for eu (I), and Brazilians often leave eu out: Tenho uma cadeira. means the same as Eu tenho uma cadeira. The form for você (you) is tem: Você tem um livro. It is the same form used for ele and ela (he, she).

Um goes with a masculine noun (um livro) and uma with a feminine one (uma cadeira). To say no, put não before the verb: Não tenho. With tenho and tem, Brazilians usually drop the article after não: Não tenho cadeira. is more usual than Não tenho uma cadeira. You will also hear a short yes that repeats the verb: Sim, tenho.

Eu tenho / Você tem um / uma coisa

• Eu tenho um livro.🔊

  I have a book.

• Tenho uma cadeira.🔊

  I have a chair.

• Você tem um livro.🔊

  You have a book.

• Você tem um livro?🔊

  Do you have a book?

• Sim, tenho.🔊

  Yes, I have it.

• Não tenho.🔊

  I don't have one.

• Não tenho cadeira.🔊

  I don't have a chair.

What there is in a place: tem

To say that something exists or can be found somewhere, spoken Brazilian Portuguese uses tem with no subject: Tem uma mesa aqui. is There is a table here. In this use tem does not change: it stays tem whatever comes after it. Na mesa is on the table: em (in, on) and a (the) join into na; with a masculine noun, em and o (the) join into no. Compare O livro está na mesa.: there you say where a known book is; Tem um livro na mesa. says that there is one. The negative puts não before tem, and the article usually goes: Não tem cadeira aqui. The answer to Tem uma cadeira aqui? is Tem, sim. (Yes, there is.).

Tem um / uma coisa aqui / na mesa

• Tem uma mesa aqui.🔊

  There's a table here.

• Tem uma cadeira aqui.🔊

  There's a chair here.

• Tem um livro na mesa.🔊

  There's a book on the table.

• Tem uma cadeira aqui?🔊

  Is there a chair here?

• Tem, sim.🔊

  Yes, there is.

• Não tem cadeira aqui.🔊

  There isn't a chair here.

Owner or place? The context decides

The same word tem can be you have or there is. In Você tem um livro. the owner is você; in Tem um livro na mesa. there is no owner, only a place. Listen for você, ele, ela or a name before tem: with one, someone has the thing. With none, the thing is usually just there, but look at the situation: in a shop, Tem um livro? can also ask whether the person has one.

In writing, and in careful speech, you will also see há for there is: Há uma mesa aqui. means the same as Tem uma mesa aqui. Recognize it; in conversation, use tem.

• Você tem um livro.🔊

  You have a book.

• Tem um livro na mesa.🔊

  There's a book on the table.

• Tenho uma cadeira.🔊

  I have a chair.

• Tem uma cadeira aqui.🔊

  There's a chair here.

• Não tenho cadeira.🔊

  I don't have a chair.

• Não tem cadeira aqui.🔊

  There isn't a chair here.

• Há uma mesa aqui.🔊

  There is a table here.

Your turn: the room you are in

Look at the room in the Explorer. Before reading the sentences, try to say in Portuguese: that you have a book; that the other person has a book; that you don't have a chair; that there is a chair here and a book on the table; then, for another room, that there isn't a chair here. Then check against the sentences, in that order, and listen to each one.

• Eu tenho um livro.🔊

  I have a book.

• Você tem um livro.🔊

  You have a book.

• Não tenho cadeira.🔊

  I don't have a chair.

• Tem uma cadeira aqui.🔊

  There's a chair here.

• Tem um livro na mesa.🔊

  There's a book on the table.

• Não tem cadeira aqui.🔊

  There isn't a chair here.

Summary: tenho, tem

Eu takes tenho; você takes tem; a place with no owner takes tem too, and that tem stays tem whatever comes after it. Não goes before the verb; with tenho and tem, the article usually drops. Há is the written there is: recognize it, say tem.