¿Podría por favor ofrecer una explicación? Si bien comprendo mucho español, preferiría que un hablante de español nativo me explicara (en ingles, por favor) el uso de tener con un participio pasado en

Search from various English teachers...

Amy

¿Podría por favor ofrecer una explicación? Si bien comprendo mucho español, preferiría que un hablante de español nativo me explicara (en ingles, por favor) el uso de tener con un participio pasado en la siguiente oracion: "La marcha culminaría con una dramática reaparición de Castro, quien tenía preparado un discurso para la ocasión." I've checked the RAE and many other resources, but I did not find a satisfactory answer to my questions. Why does the writer use "tenía" instead of "había"? Does the second part of the sentence mean that Castro himself had prepared the speech, or that he had asked someone else to prepare the speech? I would like to be able to use the tener + past participle construction, but I am not confident in how to do so. Thank you for your help.

Corrections · 13

Hola Amy, espero que estés bien.

It’s a complex but I hope I can clarify your doubt:

Now, I see why you’re having a problem understanding the nuances here cause they're subtle. Let's begin making clear that both mean "he had prepared a speech".

The grammatical explanation is that haber + participio is a verbal tense as you already pointed out,

whilst tener + participio or adjective is what is called a "perífrasis verbal". Basically, this means that "tener" takes the place of the auxiliary verb and is followed by a transitive verb in the participle form (a verb that always needs an object) or an adjective. Often, these perífrasis have several meanings depending on the context, but I believe these are the ones you need to know :

to reiterate or insist on your statement or idea:

"Tengo pensado comprar un coche". Usually when buying something expensive we tend to compare prices or features adjusted to our budget or needs, isn’t it? We reiterate before doing it.

To declare that the action is finished by the time of speaking/ The action is the result.

Cuando la llamé, tenía cortadas todas las verduras del gazpacho.

Observe your own example:

Castro tenía (aux.verb) preparado (participle) un discurso (object) para la ocasión (complemento circunstancial de finalidad)

Which case do you think better describes the meaning now?

Espero haberte ayudado.

¿Podría, por favor, alguien darme una explicación?

Si bien comprendo muchas cosas en español, preferiría que un hablante de español nativo me explicará (en inglés, por favor) el uso de "tener con un participio pasado" en la siguiente oración:
"La marcha culminaría con una dramática reaparición de Castro, quien *tenía preparado un discurso para la ocasión."
I've checked the RAE and many other resources, but I did not find a satisfactory answer to my questions. Why does the writer use "tenía" instead of "había"? Does the second part of the sentence mean that Castro himself had prepared the speech, or that he had asked someone else to prepare the speech? I would like to be able to use the tener + past participle construction, but I am not confident in how to do so.
Thank you for your help.

*to say: había preparado un discurso para la ocasión and tenía preparado un discurso para la ocasión IS THE SAME MEANING. BUT "habia preparado" is Present Perfect (with HAD+verb in past participe but not causative).

Hello Amy, Yes exactly, I know what you mean about understanding that someone else made it for him. Not particularly, it really depends on the context, and, as you said, if it's really important you'll clarify. So the main thing is that it refers that something had been done beforehand, no matter by who. Does it make sense? :) For example in English with some actions, when you want to say that someone else made something for you, you use the verb "get". So it changes the meaning of you say "I got a haircut" or "I did a haircut". We don't make that difference in Spanish normally. Don't doubt to contact me if I can help you with something else! ¡Saludos!

THE TRANSLATION IS GOING TO EXPLAIN EVERYTHING: Castro had a speech ready, Castro had a speech prepared. IN THE EXAMPLES IS CLEAR THAT THERE IS NOT "HAVE STH DONE" CONSTRUCCION BECAUSE THERE IS A SUBJECT+VERB+NOUN+ADJECTIVE. IN SPANISH THE SENTENCE CAN BE SAID: Castro tenía un discurso listo, Castro tenía listo un discurso, Castro tenía un discurso preparado, Castro tenía preparado un discurso. THE CAUSATIVE FORM THAT IS USED IN ENGLISH IS NOT BEING USED HERE, THEREFORE, IF HE HAD A SPEECH MADE/PREPARED BY SOMEONE, IT IS NOT WHAT IS BEING TALKED ABOUT. IN THE OTHER HAND, THE CAUSATIVE IS SAID IN SPANISH: Castro mandó a hacer/preparar un discurso or a Castro le prepararon un discurso AND NOT Castro tenía un discurso preparado BECAUSE THIS LAST SENTENCE IS NOT CAUSATIVE EN SPANISH, IT IS IN SPANISH: subject+verb+noun+adjective. IN CONCLUTION, ACCORDING TO THE TRANSLATION AND HOW THE SENTENCES ARE SAID IN BOTH LAGUAGES, WE KNOW WHAT IS BEING USED OR WHAT IS BEING TALKED ABOUT IN ENGLISH/SPANISH)

Want to progress faster?

Join this learning community and try out free exercises!

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!

Start Learning Today