Contener Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Contener means “to contain”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Contener means to contain, and it is used for a box containing books, a bottle containing water and a book containing information. It follows the pattern of tener, with the present contengo, the preterite contuve and the future contendré. This page shows contener in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo contengo mucha información en pocas páginas.” — I contain a lot of information in a few pages.
Contener in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how contener is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use contener in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Contengo mucha información en pocas páginas.” — I contain a lot of information in a few pages.
“¿Tú contienes tres litros de agua?” — Do you contain three litres of water?
“Contiene la respiración en el examen.” — He/she contains my breath in the exam.
“Contenemos los nervios antes de hablar.” — We contain my nerves before speaking.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show contener in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo contuve mucha información en pocas páginas.” — Yesterday, I contained a lot of information in a few pages. (preterite)
“Él contenía tres litros de agua todos los días.” — He used to contain three litres of water every day. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of contener stays the same.
“Nosotros contendremos la respiración en el examen mañana.” — We will contain my breath in the exam tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has contenido los nervios antes de hablar?” — Have you contained my nerves before speaking? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Contenéis mucha información en pocas páginas.” — You contain a lot of information in a few pages.
“Contienen tres litros de agua.” — They contain three litres of water.
“Contengo la respiración en el examen.” — I contain my breath in the exam.
“Contiene los nervios antes de hablar.” — He/she contains my nerves before speaking.
Contener in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how contener appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú contienes mucha información en pocas páginas?” — Do you contain a lot of information in a few pages?
Carlos: “Sí, yo contengo mucha información en pocas páginas.” — Yes, I contain a lot of information in a few pages.
Lucía: “Nosotros contenemos tres litros de agua.” — We contain three litres of water.
Carlos: “Y ellos contienen la respiración en el examen.” — And they contain my breath in the exam.
Lucía: “Vosotros contenéis los nervios antes de hablar.” — You contain my nerves before speaking.
Carlos: “Sí, y él contiene tres litros de agua.” — Yes, and he contains three litres of water.
A short paragraph
Lucía contiene mucha información en pocas páginas, y Carlos contiene tres litros de agua. Nosotros contenemos la respiración en el examen, y ellos contienen los nervios antes de hablar. Yo contengo la respiración en el examen, y mi padre contiene los nervios antes de hablar. Contener is part of everyday life, because to contain is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with contener
These are the errors learners actually make with contener. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo contiene mucha información en pocas páginas.” Right: “Yo contengo mucha información en pocas páginas.” Why: The person matters: contiene is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is contengo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Yo conteno tres litros de agua.” Right: “Yo contengo tres litros de agua.” Why: Contener is a stem-changing verb (e → ie), so the stem changes in the present singular and third-person plural. The nosotros form keeps the original stem.
Wrong: “Treating contener and incluir as identical in every context.” Right: “Contener means to contain, while incluir means to include.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: contener fits sentences such as Contengo mucha información en pocas páginas, while incluir belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy contenido tres litros de agua.” Right: “Yo he contenido tres litros de agua.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he contenido, has contenido, ha contenido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo contuve la respiración en el examen todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo contenía la respiración en el examen todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (contenía), not the preterite. The preterite (contuve) is for one finished action.
Quiz: contener in use
Ten questions on contener in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ mucha información en pocas páginas.” (A lot of information in a few pages.)
- (a) contenéis
- (b) contengo
- (c) contienes
Answer: contenéis — The vosotros/as form of contener in the present is contenéis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ tres litros de agua.” (Three litres of water.)
- (a) contengo
- (b) contienes
- (c) contienen
Answer: contienen — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of contener in the present is contienen.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ mucha información en pocas páginas.” (A lot of information in a few pages.)
- (a) contuvo
- (b) contuve
- (c) contuviste
Answer: contuve — The yo form of contener in the preterite is contuve.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ tres litros de agua.” (Three litres of water.)
- (a) contenía
- (b) contenías
- (c) conteníamos
Answer: contenía — The él/ella/Ud. form of contener in the imperfect is contenía.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ la respiración en el examen.” (My breath in the exam.)
- (a) contendré
- (b) contendrás
- (c) contendremos
Answer: contendremos — The nosotros/as form of contener in the future is contendremos.
6. What does contener mean in English?
- (a) to maintain, to keep
- (b) to contain
- (c) to include
Answer: to contain — Contener means “to contain”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo contengo mucha información en pocas páginas.
- (b) Ellos contiene mucha información en pocas páginas.
- (c) Yo contengo tres litros de agua ayer.
Answer: Yo contengo mucha información en pocas páginas. — “Yo contengo mucha información en pocas páginas.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I contain a lot of information in a few pages.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo contienen mucha información en pocas páginas.
- (b) Yo contuve mucha información en pocas páginas.
- (c) Yo contengo mucha información en pocas páginas.
Answer: Yo contengo mucha información en pocas páginas. — “Yo contengo mucha información en pocas páginas.” is the correct translation. The second option uses the wrong person's form, and the third uses the preterite.
9. What is the nosotros form of contener in the present tense?
- (a) contienes
- (b) contenemos
- (c) contengo
Answer: contenemos — The nosotros form is contenemos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo contuve mucha información en pocas páginas.
- (b) Nosotros contendremos mucha información en pocas páginas mañana.
- (c) Yo contengo mucha información en pocas páginas.
Answer: Yo contengo mucha información en pocas páginas. — “Yo contengo mucha información en pocas páginas.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I contain' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo contengo mucha información en pocas páginas'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo contengo mucha información en pocas páginas todos los días'.
How do you say 'I contain' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo contuve tres litros de agua'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo contenía tres litros de agua todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he contenido tres litros de agua'.
What is the difference between contener and incluir?
Contener means to contain, while incluir means to include. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use contener when you mean to contain, as in Contengo mucha información en pocas páginas.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of contener — every tense of contener in one place.
- Contener in the preterite tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on contener and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of contener until they are automatic.