Wednesday 4 February 2015

Is Anybody Feeling Sleepy?

Introduction


This post deals with a typical use of the verb tener*.





SCENARIO


Imagine you are with a couple of relatives, friends or work colleagues.

It has been a long day and maybe you are looking a little weary when someone says: "is anybody feeling sleepy?"

In Spanish, the other person could say:
¿Alguien tiene sueño?


OUR TIP

Answering this question should be straightforward. Naming someone who is feeling sleepy may be sufficient. However, you may use the expression tener sueño to make your answer more informative.


Here are some examples of how you could use that expression:
  • Yo tengo sueño (I am feeling sleepy);
  • Yo no tengo sueño (I am not feeling sleepy);
  • tienes sueño, ¿verdad? (you are feeling sleepy, aren't you -familiar);
  • Tú no tienes sueño, ¿verdad? (you are not feeling sleepy, are you -familiar);
  • Usted tiene sueño, ¿verdad? (you are feeling sleepy, aren't you -formal);
  • Usted no tiene sueño, ¿verdad? (you are not feeling sleepy, are you -formal);
  • Pedro tiene sueño (Pedro is feeling sleepy);
  • Pedro no tiene sueño (Pedro is not feeling sleepy);
  • María tiene sueño (Maria is feeling sleepy);
  • Creo1 que todos tenemos sueño (I think that we are all feeling sleepy);
  • Vosotros tenéis sueño, ¿verdad? (you are feeling sleepy, aren't you -people/ plural familiar);
  • Vosotros no tenéis sueño, ¿verdad? (you are not feeling sleepy, are you -people/ plural familiar);
  • Ustedes tienen sueño, ¿verdad? (you are feeling sleepy, aren't you -people/ plural formal);
  • Ustedes no tienen sueño, ¿verdad? (you are not feeling sleepy, are you -people/ plural formal);
  • Pedro y María tienen sueño (Pedro and Maria are feeling sleepy);


Notes:

1.- Please note that subjunctive mood should be used with the negative “no creo”, as in:
  • No creo que todos tengamos sueño (I don't believe we are all feeling sleepy)


Now you should practise answering the question:
¿Alguien tiene sueño?

*See uses of verb tener below

*Verb Tener - Typical Uses/ Expressions

Tener calor To feel hot
Tener celos To feel jealousy/ to be jealous
Tener cuidado To be careful
Tener dolor To feel pain/ to have an ache
Tener envidia To feel envy/ to be envious
Tener fiebre To be feverish
Tener frío To feel cold
Tener ganas de algo To look forward to something
Tener hambre To feel hungry
Tener la culpa To be at fault
Tener miedo To feel afraid
Tener pensado To have in mind
Tener prisa To be in hurry
Tener sed To feel thirsty
Tener sueño To feel sleepy
Tener suerte To be lucky
Tener tos To have a cough
Tener xx* años/ meses/ etc. To be xx years/ months/ etc. old
Tenerle rabia a alguien To have it in for someone

*NB Express ages by conjugating tener and replacing xx with a number. For example, I am 18 years old = tengo 18 años.

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