Skip to content
fluentbyear

ITALIAN VERB

tenere

to keep, to hold

  • #31 most used
  • Irregular -ere verb
  • Past participle: tenuto
  • Gerund: tenendo

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

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

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

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

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use tenere

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

  1. Present

    Tengo sempre le chiavi nella tasca destra.

    I always keep my keys in my right pocket.

  2. Past

    Ti ho tenuto il posto in fila.

    I kept your place in the queue.

  3. Imperfect

    Mia nonna teneva le foto in una scatola di latta.

    My grandmother kept the photos in a tin box.

  4. Future

    Terrò il telefono acceso tutta la notte.

    I'll keep my phone on all night.

  5. Conditional

    Terrei volentieri il cane mentre sei via.

    I'd gladly keep the dog while you're away.

  6. Present subjunctive

    È importante che tu tenga la ricevuta.

    It's important that you keep the receipt.

  7. Imperative

    Tieni, questo è il resto.

    Here you go, this is the change.

Good to know

  • Tenere a qualcuno is to care about someone: ci tengo molto.
  • Tieni! is "here you go" when you hand something over.

Verbs like this one

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