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FRENCH VERB

maintenir

to keep, to maintain

  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Past participle: maintenu
  • Present participle: maintenant

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

  1. je I keep
  2. tu you keep
  3. il, elle, on he/she keeps
  4. nous we keep
  5. vous you keep
  6. ils, elles they keep

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

  1. je I kept
  2. tu you kept
  3. il, elle, on he/she kept
  4. nous we kept
  5. vous you kept
  6. ils, elles they kept

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. je I used to keep
  2. tu you used to keep
  3. il, elle, on he/she used to keep
  4. nous we used to keep
  5. vous you used to keep
  6. ils, elles they used to keep

Future

Futur simple · plans; in speech, “je vais parler” is just as common

  1. je I will keep
  2. tu you will keep
  3. il, elle, on he/she will keep
  4. nous we will keep
  5. vous you will keep
  6. ils, elles they will keep

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

  1. je I would keep
  2. tu you would keep
  3. il, elle, on he/she would keep
  4. nous we would keep
  5. vous you would keep
  6. ils, elles they would keep

Present subjunctive

Subjonctif présent · wishes, doubts, “il faut que …”

  1. je (that) I keep
  2. tu (that) you keep
  3. il, elle, on (that) he/she keep
  4. nous (that) we keep
  5. vous (that) you keep
  6. ils, elles (that) they keep

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

  1. tu keep!
  2. nous keep! (let’s)
  3. vous keep! (plural, or formal)

How to use maintenir

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Je maintiens ce que j'ai dit hier.

    I stand by what I said yesterday.

  2. Past

    L'académie a maintenu la deuxième classe pour un an.

    The academy kept the second class for a year.

  3. Imperfect

    Sa famille maintenait la tradition du repas du dimanche.

    Her family kept up the tradition of Sunday lunch.

  4. Future

    Nous maintiendrons la salle ouverte tout l'été.

    We'll keep the hall open all summer.

  5. Conditional

    Vous maintiendriez le rendez-vous malgré la grève ?

    Would you keep the appointment despite the strike?

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut qu'on maintienne le contact avec la mairie.

    We have to keep in touch with the town hall.

  7. Imperative

    Maintenez la pression sur la plaie, j'appelle les secours.

    Keep pressure on the wound, I'm calling for help.

Good to know

  • Je maintiens is I stand by what I said; maintenir une décision is to uphold it.

Where you hear maintenir

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

French · Fluency Level 2

  • L'académie maintient la deuxième classe. The academy is keeping the second class.
  • Ils ont maintenu la classe pour un an. They kept the class for a year.
  • Nous maintiendrons la salle ouverte tout l'été. We'll keep the hall open all summer.
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The Academy's Answer

Fluency Level 2 · « ... que la deuxième classe de l'école de Saint-Julien est maintenue pour l'année scolaire prochaine. » · Maintenue !

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ir verb.