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fluentbyear

ITALIAN VERB

sostenere

to support, to claim

  • #430 most used
  • Irregular -ere verb
  • Past participle: sostenuto
  • Gerund: sostenendo

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. io I support
  2. tu you support
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she supports
  4. noi we support
  5. voi you all support
  6. loro they support

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

  1. io I supported
  2. tu you supported
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she supported
  4. noi we supported
  5. voi you all supported
  6. loro they supported

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. io I used to support
  2. tu you used to support
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she used to support
  4. noi we used to support
  5. voi you all used to support
  6. loro they used to support

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

  1. io I will support
  2. tu you will support
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she will support
  4. noi we will support
  5. voi you all will support
  6. loro they will support

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

  1. io I would support
  2. tu you would support
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she would support
  4. noi we would support
  5. voi you all would support
  6. loro they would support

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

  1. io (that) I support
  2. tu (that) you support
  3. lui, lei, Lei (that) he/she support
  4. noi (that) we support
  5. voi (that) you all support
  6. loro (that) they support

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders: tu, Lei, noi, voi

  1. tu support!
  2. Lei support! (formal)
  3. noi support! (let’s)
  4. voi support! (all of you)

How to use sostenere

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

  1. Present

    Lui sostiene di non aver visto niente.

    He claims he didn't see anything.

  2. Past

    I miei genitori mi hanno sostenuto in ogni scelta.

    My parents supported me in every choice.

  3. Imperfect

    La nonna sosteneva che il brodo cura tutto.

    Grandma maintained that broth cures everything.

  4. Future

    Sosterrò l'esame di guida a settembre.

    I'll sit my driving test in September.

  5. Conditional

    Sosterrei la tua idea, se avessi i numeri.

    I'd support your idea, if you had the figures.

  6. Present subjunctive

    È importante che la famiglia la sostenga adesso.

    It's important that the family supports her now.

  7. Imperative

    Sostieni la tua squadra anche quando perde.

    Support your team even when they lose.

Good to know

  • Sostenere is to back someone and to maintain that something is true; sostenere un esame is to sit an exam.

Verbs like this one

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