Mantener means to keep, to maintain. Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present: mantengo, mantienes, mantiene, mantenemos, mantenéis, mantienen.
Mantener in the present tense
Use the present for current states, habits and actions. The subject can be omitted when the verb makes it clear.
Vosotros is informal plural you in Spain. Ustedes uses the ellos/ellas form and is the usual plural you in Latin America.
Mantener in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
Mantener in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
Mantener in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
Mantener in the conditional tense
Use the conditional for what would happen, a polite request or a hypothetical situation.
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All six persons. Blue, bold forms differ from regular endings, including spelling changes that preserve pronunciation.
| Person | Present | Preterite | Imperfect | Future | Conditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | mantengo | mantuve | mantenía | mantendré | mantendría |
| tú | mantienes | mantuviste | mantenías | mantendrás | mantendrías |
| él / ella / usted | mantiene | mantuvo | mantenía | mantendrá | mantendría |
| nosotros / nosotras | mantenemos | mantuvimos | manteníamos | mantendremos | mantendríamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | mantenéis | mantuvisteis | manteníais | mantendréis | mantendríais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | mantienen | mantuvieron | mantenían | mantendrán | mantendrían |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | mantengo | I keep |
| tú | mantienes | you keep |
| él / ella / usted | mantiene | he/she keeps |
| nosotros / nosotras | mantenemos | we keep |
| vosotros / vosotras | mantenéis | you all (vosotros) keep |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | mantienen | they keep |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | mantuve | I kept |
| tú | mantuviste | you kept |
| él / ella / usted | mantuvo | he/she kept |
| nosotros / nosotras | mantuvimos | we kept |
| vosotros / vosotras | mantuvisteis | you all (vosotros) kept |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | mantuvieron | they kept |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | mantenía | I used to keep |
| tú | mantenías | you used to keep |
| él / ella / usted | mantenía | he/she used to keep |
| nosotros / nosotras | manteníamos | we used to keep |
| vosotros / vosotras | manteníais | you all (vosotros) used to keep |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | mantenían | they used to keep |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | mantendré | I will keep |
| tú | mantendrás | you will keep |
| él / ella / usted | mantendrá | he/she will keep |
| nosotros / nosotras | mantendremos | we will keep |
| vosotros / vosotras | mantendréis | you all (vosotros) will keep |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | mantendrán | they will keep |
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | mantendría | I would keep |
| tú | mantendrías | you would keep |
| él / ella / usted | mantendría | he/she would keep |
| nosotros / nosotras | mantendríamos | we would keep |
| vosotros / vosotras | mantendríais | you all (vosotros) would keep |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | mantendrían | they would keep |
Mantener differs from the regular endings in the present, preterite, future, conditional. Changed forms include present: mantengo, mantienes, mantiene; preterite: mantuve, mantuviste, mantuvo; future: mantendré, mantendrás, mantendrá; conditional: mantendría, mantendrías, mantendría. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The present forms are mantengo, mantienes, mantiene, mantenemos, mantenéis, mantienen, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
mantuve, mantuviste, mantuvo, mantuvimos, mantuvisteis, mantuvieron. For example, mantuve means “I kept”.
Mantener differs from the regular endings in the present, preterite, future, conditional. Changed forms include present: mantengo, mantienes, mantiene; preterite: mantuve, mantuviste, mantuvo; future: mantendré, mantendrás, mantendrá; conditional: mantendría, mantendrías, mantendría. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
The preterite (mantuve) presents a completed event; the imperfect (mantenía) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I kept” and “I used to keep”, but context determines the best translation.
The yo forms are mantendré (“I will keep”) and mantendría (“I would keep”). The full charts above include every person.
Mantener means to keep, to maintain.
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