Teni is the regular verb for keeping something under control, in one's grasp, or in a continuing state. It often corresponds to English “hold” or “keep,” but English spreads those meanings across many constructions, so the Esperanto object and complement pattern matters more than any single translation.
Complete regular paradigm
| Form | Function | Typical translation |
|---|---|---|
| teni | infinitive | to hold, to keep |
| tenas | present indicative | holds, keeps |
| tenis | past indicative | held, kept |
| tenos | future indicative | will hold, will keep |
| tenus | conditional | would hold, would keep |
| tenu | volitive | hold!, keep! |
The verb never changes for person or number: mi tenas, ŝi tenas, ili tenas. A direct object receives -n.
Tenu mian sakon dum mi fermas la pordon.
Hold my bag while I close the door.
Mi tenis la ŝlosilon en la poŝo por ne perdi ĝin.
I kept the key in my pocket so as not to lose it.
Ĉu vi tenus mian lokon dum mi mendas kafon?
Would you hold my place while I order coffee?
Holding and keeping an object
In its most concrete sense, teni presents the subject as continuously controlling or supporting an object. The object need not literally be in a hand: one can hold a door, keep a room, or maintain control of a situation. The shared idea is a state that the subject prevents from changing.
Ŝi tenis la bebon per unu brako kaj per la alia serĉis la bileton.
She held the baby with one arm and looked for the ticket with the other.
Bonvolu teni la pordon ĝis ĉiuj eniros.
Please hold the door until everyone has entered.
Ni tenas la rezervan ŝlosilon ĉe la najbaroj.
We keep the spare key at the neighbors' place.
This is not identical to porti. Teni focuses on control or position at a given moment; porti says that the object accompanies its bearer, commonly through movement or as something worn.
Mi tenis la skatolon dum ŝi glubendis ĝin, poste mi portis ĝin al la aŭto.
I held the box while she taped it up, then I carried it to the car.
The first action stabilizes the box; the second transports it. See Porti: To Carry Or Wear for the transport and clothing senses.
Keeping something in a state
Teni can take an object followed by a predicative adjective: teni ion varma “keep something warm.” The adjective describes the object's maintained state. The object takes accusative -n, but the predicative adjective normally does not, because it is not another object. It agrees only in number.
Tenu la fenestron fermita dum la hejtilo funkcias.
Keep the window closed while the heater is running.
La ludoj tenis la infanojn okupitaj dum la tuta vojaĝo.
The games kept the children occupied throughout the journey.
Ni tenu la diskutojn mallongaj kaj konkretaj.
Let's keep the discussions short and specific.
Compare fermi la fenestron, which causes the window to become closed, with teni la fenestron fermita, which maintains the resulting state. This result-state pattern is covered more broadly under Predicative Complements and the Accusative.
English sometimes says “keep doing” to express continuation. Esperanto does not normally copy that structure as teni + infinitive. Use daŭre, plu, or daŭrigi:
Malgraŭ la interrompoj, ŝi plu laboris.
Despite the interruptions, she kept working.
Promises, secrets, contact, and control
Several frequent combinations extend the idea of preservation. One tenas promeson by not breaking it, tenas sekreton by not revealing it, and tenas kontakton kun iu by maintaining communication.
Li ĉiam tenas siajn promesojn, eĉ kiam tio estas maloportuna.
He always keeps his promises, even when that is inconvenient.
Ĉu vi povas teni ĉi tion sekreta ĝis vendredo?
Can you keep this secret until Friday?
Ni ankoraŭ tenas kontakton kun kelkaj eksaj kolegoj.
We still keep in touch with a few former colleagues.
The idiom teni ion en la mano can be literal, while teni la situacion sub kontrolo expresses figurative control. These are neutral in conversation and writing.
La teknikistoj finfine tenas la problemon sub kontrolo.
The technicians finally have the problem under control.
Reflexive teni sin
With a reflexive object, teni sin describes how someone holds their body, maintains a condition, or conducts themself. Third-person subjects use sin; first and second persons use min, nin, and vin.
Malgraŭ la doloro, ŝi tenis sin rekta kaj trankvila.
Despite the pain, she held herself upright and calm.
Mi apenaŭ povis teni min veka dum la nokta trajno.
I could barely keep myself awake on the night train.
— Kiel li sin tenis dum la intervjuo? — Tre memfide.
— How did he conduct himself during the interview? — Very confidently.
Because sin refers back to the subject of its own clause, Li tenis lin trankvila normally means that he kept some other male person calm. Li tenis sin trankvila means that he kept himself calm. See The Reflexive Pronoun Si.
The noun sinteno, historically built from sin and teno, means bodily posture or, more commonly, an attitude or stance toward something.
Ŝia praktika sinteno helpis al la grupo trovi solvon.
Her practical attitude helped the group find a solution.
Participles
Because ordinary teni is transitive, all six participles are usable. Participles add relative time to the stable root meaning.
| Active | Meaning | Passive | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| tenanta | holding now | tenata | being held/kept |
| teninta | having held | tenita | having been held/kept |
| tenonta | about to hold | tenota | about to be held/kept |
La knabo tenanta la ruĝan ombrelon estas mia nevo.
The boy holding the red umbrella is my nephew.
La manĝaĵo devas resti bone fermita kaj malvarme tenata.
The food must remain tightly closed and kept cold.
Participles in -a behave like adjectives and agree in number and case. Adverbial forms such as tenante describe a simultaneous action: Tenante la mapon renverse, mi elektis la malĝustan vojon “Holding the map upside down, I chose the wrong road.” The wider system appears in The Six Participles.
Productive compounds and derivatives
Esperanto builds a useful family around ten-:
| Form | Core meaning | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| reteni | hold back, retain | retain information; restrain a person |
| subteni | support | physical, financial, or moral support |
| deteni | keep away, detain | prevent participation; hold in custody |
| elteni | withstand, endure | bear pressure, pain, or hardship |
| tenilo | handle, holder | the part used to hold something |
| tenanto | holder, person holding | a role or temporary action |
La breto ne eltenos tiom da pezo.
The shelf will not withstand that much weight.
Ŝi sin detenis de komento ĝis ŝi legis la tutan raporton.
She refrained from commenting until she had read the whole report.
Elteni and subteni have conventional meanings that go beyond mechanically adding a directional preposition. They are neutral and frequent. Deteni sin de is a standard reflexive frame meaning “refrain from.”
Register, norm, and usage
The root ten- and the regular paradigm are foundational Esperanto. Concrete holding, keeping possession, and maintaining an object in a state are neutral in informal conversation, formal prose, and technical instructions. The reflexive conduct sense teni sin and combinations such as teni promeson are also standard and widely attested.
Productive compounds are not all equally predictable. Subteni “support” and elteni “withstand” are established lexical items; learners should store their conventional meanings rather than reconstructing them afresh each time. Using daŭre fari instead of copying English “keep doing” as teni fari is a firm grammatical recommendation.
Common Mistakes
Giving a predicative adjective accusative -n
❌ Bonvolu teni la pordon malfermitan.
Incorrect for the intended result-state analysis — malfermitan is not a second direct object.
✅ Bonvolu teni la pordon malfermita.
Please keep the door open.
Using porti for stationary holding
❌ Portu la ŝtupetaron senmova dum mi supreniras.
Incorrect for the intended meaning — porti suggests carrying rather than stabilizing.
✅ Tenu la ŝtupetaron senmova dum mi supreniras.
Hold the ladder steady while I climb.
Copying English “keep doing” word for word
❌ Li tenis paroli post la fino de la kunveno.
Incorrect — teni does not normally introduce a continuing infinitive.
✅ Li plu parolis post la fino de la kunveno.
He kept talking after the end of the meeting.
Using a nonreflexive pronoun for the subject itself
❌ Marta tenis ŝin trankvila antaŭ la ekzameno.
Incorrect if Marta kept herself calm — ŝin refers to another woman.
✅ Marta tenis sin trankvila antaŭ la ekzameno.
Marta kept herself calm before the exam.
Omitting the direct-object ending
❌ Mi tenos via loko ĝis vi revenos.
Incorrect — the thing being kept is a direct object.
✅ Mi tenos vian lokon ĝis vi revenos.
I'll hold your place until you return.
Key Takeaways
- Teni expresses continued control, possession, support, or maintenance of a state.
- In teni la pordon malfermita, only the object takes -n; the predicative adjective does not.
- Teni sin describes posture, maintained condition, or conduct and follows Esperanto's normal reflexive rules.
- Use porti when the object accompanies a carrier, and plu/daŭre for English “keep doing.”
- Established compounds such as subteni, deteni, reteni, and elteni have conventional meanings worth learning as units.
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Start learning Esperanto →Related Topics
- Porti: To Carry Or WearB1 — Use porti for carrying, bearing, and wearing, and distinguish it from holding and goal-oriented bringing.
- Alporti: To BringB1 — Use alporti when carrying culminates at a relevant goal, with clear object, recipient, and destination frames.
- The Reflexive Pronoun SiA1 — Use si and sin when a third-person subject refers back to itself, and distinguish reflexive reference from ordinary third-person pronouns.
- Predicative Complements and the AccusativeB1 — Distinguish Esperanto predicative complements from accusative objects and attributive modifiers, especially in clauses that describe an object.
- Transitive and Intransitive VerbsA2 — Learn which verbs license a direct object, which require another construction, and how Esperanto systematically changes valency.
- The Six Participles: A System MapB1 — Map Esperanto's six participles by voice and relative time, then use them as adjectives, adverbs, nouns, and compound verb forms.