Choose exam board for KS4 Computer Science (GCSE)
Choose exam board for KS4 English
Choose exam board for KS4 French
Choose exam board for KS4 Geography
Choose exam board for KS4 German
Choose exam board for KS4 History
Choose tier for KS4 Maths
Choose exam board for KS4 Music
Choose exam board for KS4 Physical education (GCSE)
Choose exam board for KS4 Religious education (GCSE)
Choose exam board for KS4 Spanish

      Family: 'tener' 3rd person singular and plural

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can speak about extended family using I have, we have, they have and adjective agreement.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. To speak about what 'they have', 'tienen' is used.
      2. Adjectives in Spanish always have to agree with the noun in grammatical gender and number.

      Keywords

      • Adjective agreement - when the ending of an adjective matches the noun it describes in gender and number

      • Tienen - part of verb ‘tener’ and means ‘they have’

      • Es - part of verb ‘ser’ and means 'she, he, it is' (trait)

      • Son - part of verb ‘ser’ and means 'they are' (trait)

      Common misconception

      The adjective needs to agree with the verb.

      This is only the case with attribute verbs like 'ser' or 'estar' because the adjective is still referring to an implicit noun (person, thing).

      Teacher tip

      This lesson is deliberately not focused on pupils' own families. However, teachers may wish, where appropriate to their classes, invite pupils to develop personal responses about their own extended family, or other people that are important in their lives.

      Licence

      This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0
      except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions
      (Collection 2).

      Lesson video

      Loading...

      Some of our videos, including non-English language videos, do not have captions.

      Prior knowledge starter quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Match the Spanish with the English.

      Correct Answer:caminar,to walk
      Correct Answer:ciencias,science
      Correct Answer:grupo,group
      Correct Answer:silencio,silence

      Q2.
      How many [r] sounds are in this sentence: 'Hay que parar y repetir el correo'.

      1
      2
      Correct answer: 3
      4

      Q3.
      Match the English with the Spanish.

      Correct Answer:I have,tengo
      Correct Answer:you have,tienes
      Correct Answer:she/he/it has,tiene
      Correct Answer:we have,tenemos

      Q4.
      How do you say 'strong' in plural in Spanish?

      Correct Answer: fuertes

      Q5.
      Place the adjectives in this order: beautiful, small, strange, old.

      1 - hermosa
      2 - pequeña
      3 - rara
      4 - antigua

      Q6.
      How do you say 'we have some expensive boats'.

      Correct Answer: tenemos unos barcos caros, Tenemos unos barcos caros.

      4 Questions

      Q1.
      Match the Spanish with the English.

      Correct Answer:tenemos,we have
      Correct Answer:tengo,I have
      Correct Answer:tienen,they have
      Correct Answer:tienes,you have

      Q2.
      Which words are missing from ' perro. activo.'? (We)

      Correct answer: tenemos, un, es
      tenemos, unos, son
      tienen, un, es
      tienen, unos, son

      Q3.
      How do you say 'quite'?

      Correct Answer: bastante

      Q4.
      Which is the right way to turn the words in this sentence into singular, and also into feminine when possible (nouns, adjectives, verbs): 'Tienen unos trabajos. Son interesantes y antiguos.'

      Correct answer: Tiene un trabajo. Es interesante y antiguo.
      Tienes una trabajo. Son interesante y antigua.
      Tenemos un trabajo. Es interesante y antigua.
      Tenemos un trabajo. Son interesante y antiguo.

      To help you plan your 7 Spanish lesson on: Family: 'tener' 3rd person singular and plural, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...