Tenere: Full Conjugation

Tenere (to hold, keep) is one of the cornerstone irregular verbs of Italian. On its own it covers everything from physically holding an object (tieni questo per un secondo) to keeping items in a place (tengo i libri in cucina) to caring deeply about something (ci tengo molto). Just as importantly, tenere is the template for an entire family of compound verbs — mantenere, ottenere, sostenere, contenere, ritenere, trattenere, appartenere — every single one of which conjugates exactly like tenere itself. Learn one paradigm, command a dozen verbs.

The irregularities of tenere cluster around three patterns: a -g- insertion in the first-person singular and third-person plural of the present (tengo, tengono), an e → ie vowel shift in the stressed singular forms (tieni, tiene), and a double-rr contraction in the future and conditional (terrò, terrei). It also takes a -nn- passato remoto (tenni, tenne, tennero). This is the same set of irregularities that venire displays, so the two verbs reinforce each other.

Indicativo presente

Two irregularities collide in this paradigm. The -g- appears only where the ending starts with -o (the 1sg tengo and 3pl tengono); everywhere else it disappears. The vowel e → ie shift hits the stressed singular forms only (tieni, tiene), so teniamo and tenete — where stress falls on the ending — keep the plain e. This pattern of "stem changes only when the syllable is stressed" is shared with venire, sedere, and other Italian irregulars, and learning to hear which syllable carries the stress is half the battle.

Imperfetto

The imperfect is fully regular — it builds on the infinitive stem ten- and adds the standard -ere imperfect endings. None of the present-tense irregularities carry over here, which is a relief. Use it for repeated past actions (tenevamo sempre la porta chiusa) or descriptions of past states (teneva una mano sulla spalla del bambino).

Passato remoto

Tenere belongs to the so-called "1-3-3" irregular passato remoto group — the 1sg, 3sg, and 3pl have a contracted stem (tenn- with double n), while the 2sg, 1pl, and 2pl keep the regular ten- stem and take regular endings. This is the same pattern as venire (venni, venisti, venne), avere (ebbi, avesti, ebbe), and dozens of other irregular -ere verbs. The double nn is not a typo — it is genuinely the orthography.

Futuro semplice

Note the double r — this is the contracted future stem terr-, parallel to verrò (venire), vorrò (volere), berrò (bere) and parrò (parere). Historically these come from a syncopated medieval form (ten[e]rò → terrò) where the unstressed vowel dropped out and the consonants assimilated. The accent on terrò / terrà is obligatory — without it the form collapses into the unrelated noun terra ("earth, land").

Condizionale presente

The conditional uses the same terr- stem as the future. As always with Italian, terremmo (conditional, double m) and terremo (future, single m) are the trap pair — one missing letter changes "we would hold" into "we will hold." When in doubt, say it aloud: the conditional double consonant gets an audible lengthening that the future does not.

Congiuntivo presente

The subjunctive is built from the 1sg present indicative stem (teng-) plus the regular -ere subjunctive endings. Because the three singular forms collapse into tenga, explicit subjects are often needed for clarity. Note that noi and voi revert to the plain ten- stem (just as in the indicative).

Congiuntivo imperfetto

Fully regular on the ten- stem. Used in hypotheticals (se tenessi un cane, lo porterei al parco) and in past-tense subjunctive contexts (pensavo che tenesse la chiave lui).

Imperativo

The informal tu form tieni is one of the most-heard imperatives in everyday Italian — equivalent to the English "here, take this." Hand someone a coffee, a pen, a child, the receipt: tieni. The polite Lei form tenga appears in shop and service contexts: Tenga il resto ("Keep the change").

Forme non finite

The participle tenuto is regular (the expected -uto for an -ere verb) and agrees normally as an adjective when used predicatively: la promessa è stata tenuta ("the promise was kept").

Compound tenses with avere

Tenere takes avere as its auxiliary in all compound tenses, because it is transitive. The participle agrees with a preceding direct-object pronoun but not with the subject.

Tenere a, tenere conto, tenere d'occhio: the high-frequency idioms

Tenere powers an unusually large number of fixed expressions that have nothing to do with literal "holding." Memorise these as units — translating them word by word will mislead.

• tenere a (qualcosa / qualcuno) — to care about, to value. Ci tengo molto al mio lavoro. ("My job really matters to me.")
• tenere conto di — to take into account, to bear in mind. Tieni conto del traffico quando esci. ("Take traffic into account when you head out.")
• tenere d'occhio — to keep an eye on. Puoi tenere d'occhio la valigia un attimo? ("Can you keep an eye on the suitcase for a sec?")
• tenere la bocca chiusa — to keep quiet, keep a secret.
• tenersi in forma — to keep in shape (reflexive form).
• tenere duro — to hang in there, hold firm.

The compound family: mantenere, ottenere, sostenere, contenere

Every prefixed form of tenere conjugates identically, with the same stem changes and the same auxiliary (avere):

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

1. Three patterns of irregularity: -g- in 1sg/3pl present (tengo, tengono), e → ie in stressed singular forms (tieni, tiene), and contracted -rr- future/conditional (terrò, terrei). The passato remoto uses the 1-3-3 -nn- pattern (tenni, tenne, tennero).

2. The participle is regular (tenuto), and the auxiliary is always avere because tenere is transitive.

3. The compound family is huge and predictable: mantenere, ottenere, sostenere, contenere, ritenere, trattenere, appartenere. Master tenere once and you have all of them.

4. Idiomatic uses dominate everyday speech: tenere a (care about), tenere conto di (take into account), tenere d'occhio (keep an eye on), tenere duro (hang in there). Memorise these as fixed units.

Once you have tenere internalised, drill venire alongside it — the two share the same -g-, -ie-, and double-rr-future patterns, and rehearsing them in parallel cements the entire family of verbs that follow this template.