Manter means to maintain, to keep, to hold (a state or position). It looks like a regular -er verb, but it is in fact a compound of ter — man- + ter — and it inherits every one of ter's irregularities. If you already know ter, you know manter: take the ter form and prefix man-. The payoff is huge, because the same trick works for the whole -ter family: conter (contain), obter (obtain), deter (detain), reter (retain), suster (sustain) all conjugate identically. The catch is one spelling detail that trips up nearly everyone: the singular mantém vs. the plural mantêm — same vowels, different accent.
Why manter conjugates like ter
Historically, manter is manus ("hand") + tenēre ("to hold") — "to hold in hand," to keep something in place. Because the -ter part is literally the verb ter, the irregular stem changes ride along unchanged. Where ter has tenho, tem, têm, tive, tivesse, manter has mantenho, mantém, mantêm, mantive, mantivesse. The only systematic difference from bare ter: compounds carry a written accent on the stressed é of the você/ele singular form (mantém, where plain ter is just tem). See the ter/haver overview.
The mantém / mantêm trap
This is the single most important orthographic point on the page:
- mantém (acute-looking accent, agudo) = você / ele / ela — singular, "he/she keeps."
- mantêm (circumflex, circunflexo) = vocês / eles / elas — plural, "they keep."
They sound nearly identical, but in writing the circumflex marks the plural. This mirrors tem (sg.) vs. têm (pl.), except the compound adds the written accent in both numbers. The same applies to contém/contêm, obtém/obtêm. Getting this wrong is the most common written error with these verbs, even among native speakers.
Ela mantém a calma em qualquer situação.
She stays calm in any situation.
Eles mantêm contato desde a faculdade.
They've kept in touch since college.
Meaning and usage
Core senses: to keep something in a state (manter a casa limpa), to keep up / sustain (manter o ritmo), to financially support (manter a família), and to hold/keep an abstract thing (manter a palavra, keep one's word; manter contato, keep in touch). The reflexive manter-se means to keep oneself in some state: manter-se calmo, manter-se em forma (stay in shape).
É difícil manter a dieta no fim de semana.
It's hard to keep up the diet on weekends.
Ele trabalha em dois empregos pra manter a família.
He works two jobs to support his family.
Procuro me manter calmo quando o trânsito tá um caos.
I try to keep myself calm when traffic is chaos.
Indicative tenses
Presente do indicativo
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | mantenho |
| tu | manténs |
| você / ele / ela | mantém |
| nós | mantemos |
| vocês / eles / elas | mantêm |
Three irregular forms to lock in: mantenho (with the -nh-, exactly like tenho), mantém (singular, agudo), and mantêm (plural, circumflex). The nós form mantemos is regular-looking.
Eu mantenho um caderno de ideias sempre comigo.
I keep an idea notebook with me at all times.
Pretérito perfeito
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | mantive |
| tu | mantiveste |
| você / ele / ela | manteve |
| nós | mantivemos |
| vocês / eles / elas | mantiveram |
This is the ter preterite (tive, teve, tiveram) with the man- prefix: mantive, manteve, mantiveram. None of these takes a written accent.
Mesmo nervoso, ele manteve a compostura na entrevista.
Even though he was nervous, he kept his composure in the interview.
Mantivemos o segredo por anos.
We kept the secret for years.
Pretérito imperfeito
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | mantinha |
| tu | mantinhas |
| você / ele / ela | mantinha |
| nós | mantínhamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | mantinham |
Like ter's imperfect (tinha), the imperfect is mantinha — irregular with the -nh-. Note the acute on mantínhamos.
Antigamente a empresa mantinha um escritório no centro.
The company used to keep an office downtown.
Futuro do presente
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | manterei |
| tu | manterás |
| você / ele / ela | manterá |
| nós | manteremos |
| vocês / eles / elas | manterão |
Built regularly on the infinitive manter. This synthetic future is more common with manter than with everyday verbs, because manter often appears in formal/written register (contracts, reports). In speech, vou manter still wins.
A diretoria manterá os preços congelados até dezembro.
The board will keep prices frozen until December. (formal)
Futuro do pretérito (conditional)
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | manteria |
| tu | manterias |
| você / ele / ela | manteria |
| nós | manteríamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | manteriam |
Eu manteria o plano atual, mudar agora seria arriscado.
I'd keep the current plan; changing now would be risky.
Subjunctive
Presente do subjuntivo
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | mantenha |
| tu | mantenhas |
| você / ele / ela | mantenha |
| nós | mantenhamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | mantenham |
Built on the eu form mantenho: drop the -o, add -a endings, so the -nh- runs through the whole paradigm (just like tenha). mantenhamos has no written accent.
Quero que você mantenha a calma, vai dar tudo certo.
I want you to stay calm, everything will work out.
É essencial que todos mantenham distância.
It's essential that everyone keeps their distance.
Imperfeito do subjuntivo
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | mantivesse |
| tu | mantivesses |
| você / ele / ela | mantivesse |
| nós | mantivéssemos |
| vocês / eles / elas | mantivessem |
Built on the preterite stem (mantive-), exactly like tivesse. Note the acute on mantivéssemos.
Se ele mantivesse a palavra, eu confiaria nele.
If he kept his word, I'd trust him.
Futuro do subjuntivo
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | mantiver |
| tu | mantiveres |
| você / ele / ela | mantiver |
| nós | mantivermos |
| vocês / eles / elas | mantiverem |
Also from the preterite stem (mantiver-, like tiver). Common after se and enquanto referring to the future.
Enquanto você mantiver o foco, vai conseguir.
As long as you keep your focus, you'll make it.
Imperative
| Pronoun | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tu | mantém | não mantenhas |
| você | mantenha | não mantenha |
| nós | mantenhamos | não mantenhamos |
| vocês | mantenham | não mantenham |
Careful: the affirmative tu imperative mantém is spelled like the singular indicative (agudo), distinct from the plural mantêm.
Mantenha o comprovante, pode precisar depois.
Keep the receipt, you might need it later.
Non-finite forms
| Form | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Infinitivo pessoal — eu | manter |
| Infinitivo pessoal — tu | manteres |
| Infinitivo pessoal — você/ele/ela | manter |
| Infinitivo pessoal — nós | mantermos |
| Infinitivo pessoal — vocês/eles/elas | manterem |
| Gerúndio | mantendo |
| Particípio | mantido |
The gerund mantendo and participle mantido are both regular (like tendo / tido).
Ele resolveu o problema mantendo a equipe inteira informada.
He solved the problem by keeping the whole team informed.
Comparison with English
English "maintain" and "keep" map onto manter, but English uses bare "keep + adjective/-ing" very loosely ("keep calm," "keep going," "keep the change"). Portuguese is stricter: manter takes a noun or an adjective complement (manter a calma, manter-se calmo), and "keep + -ing" (continuous action) is instead continuar a / continuar + gerúndio — continuar trabalhando, not manter trabalhando. Don't stretch manter to cover "keep doing."
Common Mistakes
❌ Eles mantém contato até hoje.
Incorrect — the plural needs the circumflex: mantêm.
✅ Eles mantêm contato até hoje.
They keep in touch to this day.
❌ Eu manto a casa sempre limpa.
Incorrect — manter is irregular; the eu form is mantenho.
✅ Eu mantenho a casa sempre limpa.
I always keep the house clean.
❌ Ontem eu manti a calma.
Incorrect — the preterite is irregular: mantive.
✅ Ontem eu mantive a calma.
Yesterday I kept my cool.
❌ Quero que você mantém o foco.
Incorrect — after 'quero que' use the subjunctive mantenha.
✅ Quero que você mantenha o foco.
I want you to keep your focus.
❌ Ele mantém trabalhando o dia todo.
Incorrect — 'keep doing' is continuar + gerúndio, not manter.
✅ Ele continua trabalhando o dia todo.
He keeps working all day long.
Now practice Portuguese
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- Ter and Haver: OverviewA1 — How Brazilian Portuguese splits possession, existence, and compound-tense duties between ter and haver — and why ter wins almost everywhere.
- Present Indicative of TerA1 — How to conjugate ter in Brazilian Portuguese for possession and age, the mandatory tem/têm accent, and the everyday existential 'tem' that replaces há.
- Pretérito Perfeito of Ter and HaverA1 — How to conjugate ter (tive, teve, tiveram) and haver (houve) in the simple past, and why everyday Brazilians say teve where the written language says houve.
- AprenderA1 — Full conjugation and usage of aprender (to learn), a model regular -er verb with the obligatory 'aprender a + infinitive'.