Tenir Conjugation in French
tenir means “to hold” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 22 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about holding a book in my hand, and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of tenir — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Je tiens un livre dans la main tous les jours.” — “I hold a book in my hand every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: tenir
- English: to hold
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: tenant
- Past participle: tenu
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
- Ending: -ir verbs; pattern venir in the verified tables
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. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read tenir in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about tenir
- It is irregular in 5 tense(s): present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
- The perfect tenses use avoir: the present perfect is formed with avoir in the present plus the past participle tenu. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The gerund is tenant and the participle is tenu: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions and the participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for tenir. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | tiens |
| tu | tiens |
| il/elle | tient |
| nous | tenons |
| vous | tenez |
| ils/elles | tiennent |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With tenir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je tiens la porte pour Marie tous les jours.” — “I hold the door for Marie every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | tins |
| tu | tins |
| il/elle | tint |
| nous | tînmes |
| vous | tîntes |
| ils/elles | tinrent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. With tenir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tu tins la porte pour Marie hier.” — “You held the door for Marie yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | tenais |
| tu | tenais |
| il/elle | tenait |
| nous | tenions |
| vous | teniez |
| ils/elles | tenaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il tenait la porte pour Marie autrefois.” — “He used to hold the door for Marie in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | tiendrai |
| tu | tiendras |
| il/elle | tiendra |
| nous | tiendrons |
| vous | tiendrez |
| ils/elles | tiendront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Je tiendrai la porte pour Marie demain.” — “I will hold the door for Marie tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | tiendrais |
| tu | tiendrais |
| il/elle | tiendrait |
| nous | tiendrions |
| vous | tiendriez |
| ils/elles | tiendraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Tu tiendrais la porte pour Marie un jour.” — “You would hold the door for Marie one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai tenu |
| tu | as tenu |
| il/elle | a tenu |
| nous | avons tenu |
| vous | avez tenu |
| ils/elles | ont tenu |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il a tenu la porte pour Marie cette semaine.” — “He has held the door for Marie this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais tenu |
| tu | avais tenu |
| il/elle | avait tenu |
| nous | avions tenu |
| vous | aviez tenu |
| ils/elles | avaient tenu |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais tenu la porte pour Marie avant la fête.” — “I had held the door for Marie before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai tenu |
| tu | auras tenu |
| il/elle | aura tenu |
| nous | aurons tenu |
| vous | aurez tenu |
| ils/elles | auront tenu |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras tenu la porte pour Marie pour demain.” — “You will have held the door for Marie by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais tenu |
| tu | aurais tenu |
| il/elle | aurait tenu |
| nous | aurions tenu |
| vous | auriez tenu |
| ils/elles | auraient tenu |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait tenu la porte pour Marie hier.” — “He would have held the door for Marie yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | tienne |
| tu | tiennes |
| il/elle | tienne |
| nous | tenions |
| vous | teniez |
| ils/elles | tiennent |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With tenir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Il est important que je tienne la porte pour Marie.” — “It is important that I hold the door for Marie.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | tinsse |
| tu | tinsses |
| il/elle | tînt |
| nous | tinssions |
| vous | tinssiez |
| ils/elles | tinssent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. For example: “Il est important que tu tinsses la porte pour Marie.” — “It is important that you hold the door for Marie.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | tiens |
| nous | tenons |
| vous | tenez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With tenir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tiens la porte pour Marie !” — “Hold the door for Marie!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | tiens |
| nous | tenons |
| vous | tenez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With tenir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ne tiens pas la porte pour Marie.” — “Do not hold the door for Marie.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en tenant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En tenant un livre dans la main, je passe un bon moment.” — “While holding a book in my hand, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | tenu |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “J'ai tenu un livre dans la main cette semaine.” — “I have held a book in my hand this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with tenir, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je tiens un livre dans la main tous les jours.” — “I hold a book in my hand every day.”
- “Tu tins la porte pour Marie hier.” — “You held the door for Marie yesterday.”
- “Il tenait mes promesses autrefois.” — “He used to hold my promises in the past.”
- “Je tiendrai un livre dans la main demain.” — “I will hold a book in my hand tomorrow.”
- “Tu tiendrais la porte pour Marie un jour.” — “You would hold the door for Marie one day.”
- “Il a tenu mes promesses cette semaine.” — “He has held my promises this week.”
- “J'avais tenu un livre dans la main avant la fête.” — “I had held a book in my hand before the party.”
- “Tu auras tenu la porte pour Marie pour demain.” — “You will have held the door for Marie by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il tienne mes promesses.” — “It is important that he hold my promises.”
- “Tiens un livre dans la main !” — “Hold a book in my hand!”
Common mistakes
1. 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 present form tiens.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je tiennent un livre dans la main.”
✓ Right: “Je tiens un livre dans la main.”
tiennent is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with tiens.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je tins un livre dans la main tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je tiens un livre dans la main tous les jours.”
The passé simple tins describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present tiens.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je tiens un livre dans la main.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je tienne un livre dans la main.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use tienne here, not the indicative tiens.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis tenu un livre dans la main.”
✓ Right: “Je ai tenu un livre dans la main.”
The passé composé of tenir is formed with avoir plus the past participle tenu: the je form is ai tenu. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “tiens” written without its accent
✓ Right: “tiens”
Accents are part of the spelling in French. Write the form exactly as it appears in the table, accent included, or it looks like a different word.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on tenir. Choose the right form, 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 il/elle form of tenir in the Passé simple?
- A) tîntes
- B) tint
- C) tins
- D) tînmes
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 perfect (passé composé)?
- A) ai tenu
- B) as tenu
- C) avons tenu
- D) a tenu
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 Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) tînt
- B) tinssions
- C) tinsse
- D) tinsses
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) tint — the il/elle form of tenir in the Passé simple is tint. 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.
- 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.
- B) tienne — the il/elle form of tenir in the Present subjunctive is tienne. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) tinsse — the je form of tenir in the Imperfect subjunctive is tinsse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) en tenant — the gerund of tenir is en tenant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. 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, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is tenant and the past participle is tenu.
What are the gerund and past participle of tenir?
The gerund is tenant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is tenu — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai tenu.
Which auxiliary does tenir take in the passé composé?
tenir takes avoir in the passé composé: the je form is ai tenu. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avoir plus the past participle tenu.
How do I say “I hold” in French?
Say “Je tiens un livre dans la main tous les jours.” — “I hold a book in my hand every day.” The je form of the present is tiens, and it is the form you will use most often.
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 Conjugator — practise tenir with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise tenir with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise tenir with the interactive tool.