Contenir means “to contain, include, hold back, or keep under control.” Its pronominal form contenir-se means “to restrain oneself.” The standard alternative infinitive contindre is especially characteristic of Valencian and Northwestern usage (regional). Like its base verb tenir, it divides into present continc, velar contingu-, future contindr-, and participle contingut. Despite the -ir ending, it is not incoative: conteneixo and conteneixes are not forms of this verb.
English “contain” is mostly transitive, and so is Catalan contenir: l'informe conté tres annexos. But Catalan additionally uses the pronominal construction when the subject controls their own reaction: es va contenir. This is not decorative reflexive marking; removing se changes who restrains whom.
Its stem alternations directly extend the conjugation of tenir.
Nonfinite forms
| Form | Catalan | English guide |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | contenir / contindre | to contain; restrain |
| Perfect infinitive | haver contingut | to have contained |
| Gerund | contenint | containing; restraining |
| Perfect gerund | havent contingut | having contained |
| Participle | contingut; continguda, continguts, contingudes | contained |
The participle is also the noun contingut “content,” as in el contingut del curs. In compound tenses it remains invariable: les substàncies que el dipòsit ha contingut. In passive or adjectival use it agrees: la fuita ha estat continguda. The gerund is contenint, not continguent.
Indicative: simple and periphrastic tenses
| Tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | continc | contens | conté | contenim | conteniu | contenen |
| Imperfect | contenia | contenies | contenia | conteníem | conteníeu | contenien |
| Periphrastic past | vaig contenir | vas contenir | va contenir | vam contenir | vau contenir | van contenir |
| Simple past | continguí | contingueres | contingué | continguérem | continguéreu | contingueren |
| Future | contindré | contindràs | contindrà | contindrem | contindreu | contindran |
| Conditional | contindria | contindries | contindria | contindríem | contindríeu | contindrien |
The accent on third-person conté is obligatory: conte is the noun “tale/story.” The ordinary conversational completed past is vaig contenir. Synthetic continguí... is often (formal/literary) in Central Catalan, though the exact spoken distribution varies by region. Future and conditional use contindr-; conteniré is a regularization error.
Aquest xarop conté una petita quantitat d'alcohol.
This syrup contains a small amount of alcohol.
La versió anterior contenia dos apartats que ara s'han fusionat.
The previous version contained two sections that have now been merged.
Els bombers van contenir l'incendi abans que arribés al pinar.
The firefighters contained the fire before it reached the pine woods.
El dic de contenció contindrà l'aigua només si en reforcen la base.
The retaining dam will hold the water only if they reinforce its base.
Indicative compounds and subjunctive
| Indicative tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present perfect | he contingut | has contingut | ha contingut | hem contingut | heu contingut | han contingut |
| Pluperfect | havia contingut | havies contingut | havia contingut | havíem contingut | havíeu contingut | havien contingut |
| Past anterior | haguí contingut | hagueres contingut | hagué contingut | haguérem contingut | haguéreu contingut | hagueren contingut |
| Future perfect | hauré contingut | hauràs contingut | haurà contingut | haurem contingut | haureu contingut | hauran contingut |
| Conditional perfect | hauria contingut | hauries contingut | hauria contingut | hauríem contingut | hauríeu contingut | haurien contingut |
| Subjunctive tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | contingui | continguis | contingui | continguem | contingueu | continguin |
| Imperfect | contingués | continguessis | contingués | continguéssim | continguéssiu | continguessin |
| Present perfect | hagi contingut | hagis contingut | hagi contingut | hàgim contingut | hàgiu contingut | hagin contingut |
| Pluperfect | hagués contingut | haguessis contingut | hagués contingut | haguéssim contingut | haguéssiu contingut | haguessin contingut |
La llei exigeix que l'etiqueta contingui tots els al·lèrgens.
The law requires the label to list all allergens.
Era impossible que es contingués quan sentia aquella rialla.
It was impossible for her to keep a straight face when she heard that laugh.
La barrera de seguretat ha contingut la fuita, però encara cal revisar les canonades.
The safety barrier has contained the leak, but the pipes still need checking.
(Regional: Valencian) uses continga, contingues... and allows imperfect continguera.... (Regional: Balearic) additionally admits contenc, contengu-, future contendr-, and participle contengut.
The following rows complete the reference. The latter subjunctive rows are (regional/formal).
| Periphrastic tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicative past anterior | vaig haver contingut | vas haver contingut | va haver contingut | vam haver contingut | vau haver contingut | van haver contingut |
| Subjunctive past | vagi contenir | vagis contenir | vagi contenir | vàgim contenir | vàgiu contenir | vagin contenir |
| Subjunctive past anterior | vagi haver contingut | vagis haver contingut | vagi haver contingut | vàgim haver contingut | vàgiu haver contingut | vagin haver contingut |
Imperative and clitic behavior
| Addressee | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tu | contén / contingues | no continguis |
| vostè | contingui | no contingui |
| nosaltres | continguem | no continguem |
| vosaltres | conteniu / contingueu | no contingueu |
| vostès | continguin | no continguin |
Both displayed affirmative alternatives are standard, though usage varies. A direct-object pronoun follows an affirmative command (contén-lo, contingues-la) and precedes a negative one (no el continguis). With contenir-se, the reflexive pronoun follows affirmatives (contén-te, contingues-te) and precedes negatives (no et continguis).
Contingueu-la darrere la barrera fins que arribi l'equip veterinari.
Keep her behind the barrier until the veterinary team arrives.
Contén-te i deixa que la portaveu acabi de respondre.
Restrain yourself and let the spokesperson finish answering.
Plain contenir takes a direct object without de: a bottle contains liquid, a report contains data, a force contains a threat. The subject can also hold back an emotion or person: va contenir la ràbia; els agents van contenir la multitud. Pronominal contenir-se makes the subject the restrained participant and may take de + infinitive: es va contenir de replicar.
Es va contenir de fer cap comentari fins que no va veure les xifres definitives.
He refrained from making any comment until he saw the final figures.
L'informe conté gràfics interactius, però la versió impresa no els conté.
The report contains interactive charts, but the printed version does not contain them.
A de-complement built on the noun contingut can be resumed by the partitive en: Parlem del contingut → En parlem. That noun pattern should not be confused with the verb's direct object, which takes el/la/els/les/ho, not en: El document conté això → Ho conté.
Common Mistakes
❌ El dossier conte informació confidencial.
Incorrect—the verb form conté requires an accent; conte means ‘tale.’
✅ El dossier conté informació confidencial.
The file contains confidential information.
❌ El medicament conté de lactosa.
Incorrect—contenir takes its contents as a direct object, without de.
✅ El medicament conté lactosa.
The medicine contains lactose.
❌ Espero que l'envàs conté prou aigua per al trajecte.
Incorrect in this desired, nonasserted clause—the present subjunctive is contingui.
✅ Espero que l'envàs contingui prou aigua per al trajecte.
I hope the container holds enough water for the journey.
❌ Quan va sentir l'acusació, va contenir i no va respondre.
Incorrect for self-restraint—the pronominal form is required.
✅ Quan va sentir l'acusació, es va contenir i no va respondre.
When she heard the accusation, she restrained herself and did not answer.
❌ Aquest dipòsit contenirà mil litres després de la reforma.
Incorrect—the future uses the contracted stem contindr-.
✅ Aquest dipòsit contindrà mil litres després de la reforma.
This tank will hold one thousand liters after the renovation.
Key Takeaways
Organize the paradigm around continc, contenia, contingué, contindré, contingui, and contingut. Use a direct object for what something contains, preserve se in self-restraint, write conté with its accent, and treat Balearic conteng- and Valencian continga as regional systems rather than random variants.
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