Las tengo sucias

[createdamadman]

In the sentence "Me estoy lavando las manos porque las tengo sucias.", I am confused about the phrase "las tengo sucias". I know that "las" is referring to the hands but why is "tengo" used? Why isn't it "tienen" or better yet, why isn't it "están"?

[Rusty]

You're dealing with a verb structure that doesn't exist in English.

The verb tener is conveying ownership and its person reflects the owner of the direct object (the hands). The verb is followed by an adjective that describes the object.
In English we'd use a possessive adjective and a linking verb - My hands are dirty.

Transliterated, the Spanish is 'they (las manos) I have dirty'. This doesn't sound natural in English, but it does a nice job of explaining who owns the hands that are dirty. The adjective matches the gender and number of the referent. The verb matches the person and number of the owner.

This structure is another way of saying 'Mis manos están sucias'.

[createdamadman]

Originally Posted by Rusty

You're dealing with a verb structure that doesn't exist in English.

The verb tener is conveying ownership and its person reflects the owner of the direct object (the hands). The verb is followed by an adjective that describes the object.
In English we'd use a possessive adjective and a linking verb - My hands are dirty.

Transliterated, the Spanish is 'they (las manos) I have dirty'. This doesn't sound natural in English, but it does a nice job of explaining who owns the hands that are dirty. The adjective matches the gender and number of the referent. The verb matches the person and number of the owner.

This structure is another way of saying 'Mis manos están sucias'.

Okay, thank you!