Tenir: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French
Introduction
Tenir means “to hold”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in French — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for tenir, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Example sentences
Twelve sentences with tenir, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.
- “Je tiens un livre dans la main tous les jours.” — “I hold a book in my hand every day.”
- “Tu tiens la porte pour Marie tous les jours.” — “You hold the door for Marie every day.”
- “J'ai tenu mes promesses cette semaine.” — “I have held my promises this week.”
- “Il tenait un livre dans la main autrefois.” — “He used to hold a book in my hand in the past.”
- “Nous tiendrons la porte pour Marie demain.” — “We will hold the door for Marie tomorrow.”
- “Tu as tenu mes promesses cette semaine.” — “You have held my promises this week.”
- “Je tiendrais un livre dans la main un jour.” — “I would hold a book in my hand one day.”
- “Il est important que il tienne la porte pour Marie.” — “It is important that he hold the door for Marie.”
- “Nous avions tenu mes promesses avant la fête.” — “We had held my promises before the party.”
- “Il tiendra un livre dans la main demain.” — “He will hold a book in my hand tomorrow.”
- “Ils tiennent la porte pour Marie tous les jours.” — “They hold the door for Marie every day.”
- “Tiens mes promesses !” — “Hold my promises!”
A short dialogue
Marie and Pierre are talking about a book in my hand. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how tenir changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of tenir below is taken from the verified tables.
Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je tiens un livre dans la main tous les jours.” — “I hold a book in my hand every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je tiendrai la porte pour Marie demain.” — “I will hold the door for Marie tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai tenu mes promesses cette semaine.” — “I have held my promises this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je tiendrais un livre dans la main un jour.” — “I would hold a book in my hand one day.”
Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the passé composé for yesterday, and the conditional for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.
Tenir in different tenses
The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of tenir that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.
The present: habits and facts
In the present, tenir describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is tiens: “Je tiens un livre dans la main tous les jours.” — “I hold a book in my hand every day.”
The imperfect: the past as it used to be
In the imperfect, tenir describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is tenait: “Il tenait la porte pour Marie autrefois.” — “He used to hold the door for Marie in the past.”
The passé composé: finished actions
In the passé composé, tenir reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle tenu. The je form is ai tenu: “J'ai tenu mes promesses cette semaine.” — “I have held my promises this week.”
The future: what will happen
In the future, tenir talks about what will happen. The nous form is tiendrons: “Nous tiendrons un livre dans la main demain.” — “We will hold a book in my hand tomorrow.”
The conditional: what would happen
In the conditional, tenir talks about what would happen. The tu form is tiendrais: “Tu tiendrais la porte pour Marie un jour.” — “You would hold the door for Marie one day.”
The subjunctive: wishes and doubts
In the subjunctive, tenir appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is tienne, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je tienne mes promesses.” — “It is important that I hold my promises.”
Common mistakes
Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je tenir un livre dans la main.”
✓ Right: “Je tiens un livre dans la main.”
The infinitive tenir never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form tiens.
Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Tu tiens un livre dans la main.”
✓ Right: “Tu tiens un livre dans la main.”
tiens is the je form. With tu you need tiens. Check the subject before you choose the form.
Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Je tiens un livre dans la main hier.”
✓ Right: “Je ai tenu un livre dans la main hier.”
The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé ai tenu, not the present.
Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu tiens la porte pour Marie.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que tu tiennes la porte pour Marie.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: tiennes, not the indicative tiens.
Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je tenu un livre dans la main.”
✓ Right: “Je ai tenu un livre dans la main.”
The passé composé of tenir needs the auxiliary avoir plus the participle tenu: the full je form is ai tenu.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on tenir. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of tenir in the Present indicative?
- A) tenez
- B) tiens
- C) tient
- D) tenons
What is the tu form of tenir in the Present indicative?
- A) tenez
- B) tiens
- C) tient
- D) tenons
What is the il/elle form of tenir in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) ai tenu
- B) as tenu
- C) avons tenu
- D) a tenu
What is the nous form of tenir in the Imperfect?
- A) tenions
- B) tenais
- C) tenait
- D) teniez
What is the tu form of tenir in the Future?
- A) tiendra
- B) tiendrons
- C) tiendras
- D) tiendrai
What is the je form of tenir in the Conditional?
- A) tiendriez
- B) tiendrais
- C) tiendrait
- D) tiendrions
What is the il/elle form of tenir in the Present subjunctive?
- A) teniez
- B) tienne
- C) tiennes
- D) tenions
What is the je form of tenir in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) avais tenu
- B) avait tenu
- C) avions tenu
- D) aviez tenu
What is the gerund of tenir?
- A) en portant
- B) en laissant
- C) en suivant
- D) en tenant
What does tenir mean in English?
- A) to leave, to let
- B) to follow
- C) to hold
- D) to carry, to wear
Answer key
- B) tiens — the je form of tenir in the Present indicative is tiens. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) tiens — the tu form of tenir in the Present indicative is tiens. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) a tenu — the il/elle form of tenir in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a tenu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) tenions — the nous form of tenir in the Imperfect is tenions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) tiendras — the tu form of tenir in the Future is tiendras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) tiendrais — the je form of tenir in the Conditional is tiendrais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) tienne — the il/elle form of tenir in the Present subjunctive is tienne. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) avais tenu — the je form of tenir in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais tenu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) en tenant — the gerund of tenir is en tenant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- C) to hold — tenir means “to hold” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does tenir mean in English?
tenir means “to hold”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is tenir regular or irregular?
tenir is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is tenant and the past participle is tenu.
How do I practise tenir every day?
Say one sentence with tenir in the present, one in the passé composé and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Je tiens un livre dans la main tous les jours.”, “J'ai tenu un livre dans la main cette semaine.” and “Je tiendrai un livre dans la main demain.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for tenir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of tenir — every tense of tenir in one place.
- Tenir in the passé composé tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Tenir examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Porter conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Laisser conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Suivre conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise tenir with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise tenir with the interactive tool.
- Verb Translator — practise tenir with the interactive tool.