Thursday, 19 February 2015

Is Anybody In A Hurry?

Introduction


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





SCENARIO


Imagine you are with a couple of work colleagues.

You are trying to complete some task before leaving when someone says: "is anybody in a hurry?"

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


OUR TIP

Answering this question should be straightforward. Naming someone who is in a hurry may be sufficient. However, you may use the expression tener prisa to make your answer more informative.


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


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


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

*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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