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FRENCH VERB

se tenir

to stand, to behave

  • #268 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Past participle: tenu
  • Present participle: se tenant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use se tenir

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

  1. Present

    Il se tient toujours près de la porte, en silence.

    He always stands near the door, in silence.

  2. Past

    Les enfants se sont bien tenus au restaurant.

    The children behaved well at the restaurant.

  3. Imperfect

    Elle se tenait droite comme une danseuse.

    She stood up straight like a dancer.

  4. Future

    La réunion se tiendra mardi dans la grande salle.

    The meeting will be held on Tuesday in the big room.

  5. Conditional

    Il se tiendrait mieux si son père était là.

    He'd behave better if his father were here.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que tu te tiennes à la rampe.

    You need to hold on to the handrail.

  7. Imperative

    Tiens-toi droit, tu vas avoir mal au dos.

    Stand up straight, you'll get backache.

Good to know

  • Tiens-toi bien ! is behave!; se tenir droit is to stand up straight; la réunion se tient à Lyon, it's held in Lyon.

Verbs like this one

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