Skip to content
fluentbyear

SPANISH VERB

mantener

to keep

  • #57 most used
  • Irregular -er verb
  • Gerund: manteniendo
  • Past participle: mantenido

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I keep
  2. tú you keep
  3. usted, él, ella he/she keeps
  4. nosotros we keep
  5. vosotros Spain you all keep
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they keep

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I kept
  2. tú you kept
  3. usted, él, ella he/she kept
  4. nosotros we kept
  5. vosotros Spain you all kept
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they kept

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to keep
  2. tú you used to keep
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to keep
  4. nosotros we used to keep
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to keep
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to keep

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will keep
  2. tú you will keep
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will keep
  4. nosotros we will keep
  5. vosotros Spain you all will keep
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will keep

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would keep
  2. tú you would keep
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would keep
  4. nosotros we would keep
  5. vosotros Spain you all would keep
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would keep

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I keep
  2. tú (that) you keep
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she keep
  4. nosotros (that) we keep
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all keep
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they keep

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I kept
  2. tú (if) you kept
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she kept
  4. nosotros (if) we kept
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all kept
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they kept

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú keep!
  2. usted keep! (formal)
  3. nosotros keep! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain keep! (all of you)
  5. ustedes keep! (all of you)

How to use mantener

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

  1. Present

    Mantengo contacto con mis amigos del colegio.

    I keep in touch with my school friends.

  2. Past

    Mantuvimos la calma durante todo el apagón.

    We kept calm throughout the power cut.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi abuelo mantenía a seis hijos con un sueldo.

    My grandad supported six children on one salary.

  4. Future

    El ayuntamiento mantendrá las fuentes del parque.

    The council will maintain the fountains in the park.

  5. Conditional

    Yo mantendría la casa más fresca con persianas.

    I'd keep the house cooler with blinds.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Es importante que mantengas la puerta cerrada.

    It's important you keep the door shut.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Me pidieron que mantuviera el secreto hasta la boda.

    They asked me to keep the secret until the wedding.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Mantén la calma y respira hondo!

    Keep calm and breathe deeply!

Good to know

  • Mantener a la familia is to support your family; mantenerse en forma is to keep fit.

Where you hear mantener

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

Spanish · Advanced Level 3

  • Las persianas mantienen la casa fresca. The blinds keep the house cool.
  • Mantuve la calma en cada parto. I kept calm at every birth.
  • Mantendremos el título del libro. We'll keep the title of the book.
11
The East Wind

Advanced Level 3 · la cal las mantiene frescas

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

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