Skip to content

pertenecer

to belong

verb pehr-teh-neh-SEHR Common

Usage Note

Pertenecer is always followed by a: pertenece a este grupo ('it belongs to this group'). Unlike tener, it expresses inherent membership or ownership rather than possession — you cannot use it for objects you merely carry. It is conjugated like conocer (yo pertenezco).

Examples

"Este libro pertenece a la biblioteca."

Natural Translation

This book belongs to the library.

Explore Spanish by topic