Everyday Expressions with Hacer and Tener
Hacer and tener carry many meanings that English expresses differently. Use them for weather, hunger, hurry, chores, and other situations that recur in ordinary life.
Learning objective
Use common hacer and tener expressions without translating their English structures word for word.
An idiomatic expression is a combination whose natural structure may not match another language word for word. Spanish uses tener, to have, in Tengo hambre, Tengo sed, and Tengo prisa. Natural English says I’m hungry, I’m thirsty, and I’m in a hurry, so copying English to be produces the wrong verb.
Tener also expresses age and several physical experiences: Tengo treinta años, Tengo frío, and Tengo sueño. The noun after tener stays in the expression. Intensify it with mucha or mucho where appropriate—Tengo mucha hambre—and remember that the grammar is not claiming hunger as a permanent possession.
Hacer, broadly to do or make, appears in weather expressions such as Hace frío, Hace calor, and Hace viento. These statements do not name a personal subject. For activities, hacer behaves normally: Hago la compra, hacemos ejercicio, and Ana hace la cena, with the form matching who acts.
Put both verbs into one ordinary decision: Hace calor y tengo sed, así que hago una pausa y bebo agua. Mi compañero tiene prisa, pero hacemos la compra juntos. The connected situation separates impersonal weather, personal experience, and an action performed by named people.
Examples
Tengo hambre, así que preparo algo de comer.
I’m hungry, so I’ll make something to eat.
The contextual translation uses English be hungry and treats preparo as an immediate plan.
¿Tienes frío o quieres abrir la ventana?
Are you cold, or do you want to open the window?
Tienes asks about the listener’s physical experience.
Hace viento, pero hacemos ejercicio en el parque.
It is windy, but we exercise in the park.
Hace describes weather; hacemos has nosotros as its subject.
Mi hija tiene diez años y hace la tarea después de clase.
My daughter is ten and does her homework after class.
Tener expresses age, while hacer names a daily task.
Common mistake
- Instead of
- Soy hambre y soy prisa.
- Try
- Tengo hambre y tengo prisa.
English uses forms of be in I’m hungry and I’m in a hurry, but Spanish selects tener for both experiences. Ser identifies or classifies; it does not replace every English be. Learn each expression as a meaningful unit rather than translating its individual words.
Practice
Try it yourself
Correct the transfers and complete the response: Hoy es calor. Yo soy sed y Ana es sueño, pero nosotros ___ la compra ahora porque ella ___ prisa.