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SPANISH VERB

sujetar

to hold (steady)

  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: sujetando
  • Past participle: sujetado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

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

Imperfect

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

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Past subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

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

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

How to use sujetar

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

  1. Present

    Sujeto la escalera mientras Julián cambia la bombilla.

    I hold the ladder while Julián changes the bulb.

  2. Past

    Sujeté la puerta para que pasara la señora.

    I held the door so the lady could get through.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi padre me sujetaba la bici cuando aprendí.

    My dad held my bike steady when I was learning.

  4. Future

    Tú sujetarás el cuadro y yo pongo el clavo.

    You'll hold the picture and I'll put the nail in.

  5. Conditional

    Yo sujetaría la tabla con las dos manos.

    I'd hold the board with both hands.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Necesito que alguien sujete al perro un momento.

    I need someone to hold the dog a moment.

  7. Past subjunctive

    El médico me pidió que sujetara al niño.

    The doctor asked me to hold the child still.

  8. Imperative

    Sujeta bien la caja, que pesa mucho.

    Hold the box firmly, it's really heavy.

Good to know

  • "Sujetar" is to hold something so it doesn't move or fall; "sujétame esto" is "hold this for me". "Un sujetador" is a bra.

Where you hear sujetar

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

Spanish · Fluency Level 3

  • Cuando alguien pinta, yo le sujeto la escalera. Es mi especialidad. When someone paints, I hold the ladder for them. It's my speciality.
  • El sábado, Pablo sujetó la escalera tres horas, y ni una mancha. On Saturday, Pablo held the ladder for three hours, and not one stain.
  • Cuando abra las cajas de arriba, tú me vas a sujetar la escalera. When I open the boxes at the top, you're going to hold the ladder for me.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ar verb.