tener + participio

Question

Is this common usage in both spoken and written Spanish? Is it more common in Spain than in Latin America? (i.e. Will there be raised eyebrows if I use it in Mexico, like there often are when I use "cover?") Thanks!

Answer

Mary Jane, funnily enough I asked my teacher (here in Andalusia) this same question just a few days ago. My Grammar book implies that the "tener + participio" construction is best used with tasks that need to be performed.

That seems to tie in with my teacher's reply: here is our e-mail exchange:

Hola David, creo que al utilizar el verbo tener le introduces un significado de obligación, es algo que hay que hacer o un significado de pertenencia (algo propio, tuyo). Pero la diferencia es muy sutil. Es posible que sea una expresión que se utiliza por aquí y no en otros lugares. La utilizamos frecuentemente con otros verbos: tengo visto, te tengo dicho... Una muy popular es “tengo entendido”, esta si la habrás visto mas de una vez.María Luisa

El 3 ene 2021, a las 17:19, David McNaughton escribió:
María Luisa -
Debe ser una [muy pequeña ?] diferencia entre:

"No tengo decidido [si me voy a jubilar ...]" - (en tu respuesta)y"No he decidido [si me voy a jubilar ...]" - (yo escribí "no has decidido?" en mi correo).
Sin embargo, no puedo sugerir traducciones en inglés para expresar los matices distintos.
David Mc---------------------------------------------
On Saturday, 2 January 2021, 22:38:54 CET, Maria Luisa M C wrote:
...... No tengo decidido si me voy a jubilar en junio ....
-------------------------------------------------------
El 1 ene 2021, a las 17:36, David McNaughton escribió:

..... ¿o no has decidido todavía? [> jubilarte]

Answer

My teacher's reply is also consistent with the Kwiziq Spanish lesson "Using tener + participio to express the completion of an action" - but she wonders whether it might be more common in Andalusia. My grammar book implies that certain expressions (e.g. "no la tengo visto" and "tengo sido") are heard in Galicia, but are sub-standard and best avoided... I am guessing that in Mexico attitudes to 'strictly correct' forms are likely to be relaxed?

Answer

Thank you for your input, David. Your teacher's response makes sense. I am going to ask my teacher at our next class. It will be interesting to compare her response (she grew up in Argentina with a mother from Galicia, and is well versed in Spanish spoken in Mexico, too).

Regarding whether Mexico attitudes regarding correct forms are more relaxed, I have not found that to be the case, and I've studied in both Mexico and Spain. Of course, everyday spoken Spanish is often relaxed, just like everyday spoken English in the US.

On a non-grammatical topic, I had a typo in my question. I meant to say I raise eyebrows in Mexico when I use the word "coger" the way it's so frequently used in Spain. You certainly do not "coger" a taxi or bus in Mexico!

Answer

Mary Jane - As I'm sure you know, there are quite a few examples of Spanish being spoken incorrectly "en la calle" > For example, adding an 's' to the end of the 'tu' preterite, making it "hablastes". Indeed, it happens in every language, including English - e.g. "they are coping up with a situation or a problem" - [the 'up' always makes me wince].

On a more extreme level, there are of course words and names [comparable with the one which you cite !] which provoke a horrified reaction in certain parts of the English-speaking world, but which are used quite naturally in other places.

Anyway, from what my teacher says it sounds as if we will sometimes hear "tengo visto ..." or "te tengo dicho" in Spain - which do not actually fit into any of the categories listed in Inma's lesson on this topic ... But a lot of people are probably unaware [and unconcerned] that the Academia in Madrid would disapprove.

Sometimes, as the decades roll by, certain expressions become [grudgingly?] accepted as 'correct' - for example the use of the English auxiliary verb 'can' instead of 'may'.

Good luck with your studies ! - David Mc