Mantener Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Mantener means “to maintain, to keep”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Mantener means to maintain or to keep, and it covers keeping a promise, maintaining a house, keeping calm and keeping in touch. It follows the pattern of tener, with the present mantengo, the preterite mantuve and the future mantendré, and it is one of the most frequent verbs in Spanish. This page shows mantener 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 mantengo la calma en la reunión.” — I maintain calm in the meeting.
Mantener in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how mantener 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 mantener in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Mantengo la calma en la reunión.” — I maintain calm in the meeting.
“¿Tú mantienes la casa en buen estado?” — Do you maintain the house in good condition?
“Mantiene el contacto con sus amigos.” — He/she maintains in touch with his friends.
“Mantenemos la promesa hecha.” — We maintain the promise he made.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show mantener in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo mantuve la calma en la reunión.” — Yesterday, I maintained calm in the meeting. (preterite)
“Él mantenía la casa en buen estado todos los días.” — He used to maintain the house in good condition 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 mantener stays the same.
“Nosotros mantendremos el contacto con sus amigos mañana.” — We will maintain in touch with his friends tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has mantenido la promesa hecha?” — Have you maintained the promise he made? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Mantenéis la calma en la reunión.” — You maintain calm in the meeting.
“Mantienen la casa en buen estado.” — They maintain the house in good condition.
“Mantengo el contacto con sus amigos.” — I maintain in touch with his friends.
“Mantiene la promesa hecha.” — He/she maintains the promise he made.
Mantener 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 mantener appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú mantienes la calma en la reunión?” — Do you maintain calm in the meeting?
Carlos: “Sí, yo mantengo la calma en la reunión.” — Yes, I maintain calm in the meeting.
Lucía: “Nosotros mantenemos la casa en buen estado.” — We maintain the house in good condition.
Carlos: “Y ellos mantienen el contacto con sus amigos.” — And they maintain in touch with his friends.
Lucía: “Vosotros mantenéis la promesa hecha.” — You maintain the promise he made.
Carlos: “Sí, y él mantiene la casa en buen estado.” — Yes, and he maintains the house in good condition.
A short paragraph
Lucía mantiene la calma en la reunión, y Carlos mantiene la casa en buen estado. Nosotros mantenemos el contacto con sus amigos, y ellos mantienen la promesa hecha. Yo mantengo el contacto con sus amigos, y mi padre mantiene la promesa hecha. Mantener is part of everyday life, because to maintain, to keep is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with mantener
These are the errors learners actually make with mantener. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo mantiene la calma en la reunión.” Right: “Yo mantengo la calma en la reunión.” Why: The person matters: mantiene is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is mantengo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Yo manteno la casa en buen estado.” Right: “Yo mantengo la casa en buen estado.” Why: Mantener 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 mantener and conservar as identical in every context.” Right: “Mantener means to maintain, to keep, while conservar means to keep, to preserve.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: mantener fits sentences such as Mantengo la calma en la reunión, while conservar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy mantenido la casa en buen estado.” Right: “Yo he mantenido la casa en buen estado.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he mantenido, has mantenido, ha mantenido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo mantuve el contacto con sus amigos todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo mantenía el contacto con sus amigos todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (mantenía), not the preterite. The preterite (mantuve) is for one finished action.
Quiz: mantener in use
Ten questions on mantener in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ la calma en la reunión.” (Calm in the meeting.)
- (a) mantenéis
- (b) mantengo
- (c) mantienes
Answer: mantenéis — The vosotros/as form of mantener in the present is mantenéis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ la casa en buen estado.” (The house in good condition.)
- (a) mantengo
- (b) mantienes
- (c) mantienen
Answer: mantienen — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of mantener in the present is mantienen.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ la calma en la reunión.” (Calm in the meeting.)
- (a) mantuvo
- (b) mantuve
- (c) mantuviste
Answer: mantuve — The yo form of mantener in the preterite is mantuve.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ la casa en buen estado.” (The house in good condition.)
- (a) mantenía
- (b) mantenías
- (c) manteníamos
Answer: mantenía — The él/ella/Ud. form of mantener in the imperfect is mantenía.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ el contacto con sus amigos.” (In touch with his friends.)
- (a) mantendré
- (b) mantendrás
- (c) mantendremos
Answer: mantendremos — The nosotros/as form of mantener in the future is mantendremos.
6. What does mantener mean in English?
- (a) to contain
- (b) to maintain, to keep
- (c) to keep, to preserve
Answer: to maintain, to keep — Mantener means “to maintain, to keep”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo mantengo la calma en la reunión.
- (b) Ellos mantiene la calma en la reunión.
- (c) Yo mantengo la casa en buen estado ayer.
Answer: Yo mantengo la calma en la reunión. — “Yo mantengo la calma en la reunión.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I maintain calm in the meeting.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo mantienen la calma en la reunión.
- (b) Yo mantuve la calma en la reunión.
- (c) Yo mantengo la calma en la reunión.
Answer: Yo mantengo la calma en la reunión. — “Yo mantengo la calma en la reunión.” 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 mantener in the present tense?
- (a) mantienes
- (b) mantenemos
- (c) mantengo
Answer: mantenemos — The nosotros form is mantenemos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo mantuve la calma en la reunión.
- (b) Nosotros mantendremos la calma en la reunión mañana.
- (c) Yo mantengo la calma en la reunión.
Answer: Yo mantengo la calma en la reunión. — “Yo mantengo la calma en la reunión.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I maintain' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo mantengo la calma en la reunión'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo mantengo la calma en la reunión todos los días'.
How do you say 'I maintain' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo mantuve la casa en buen estado'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo mantenía la casa en buen estado todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he mantenido la casa en buen estado'.
What is the difference between mantener and conservar?
Mantener means to maintain, to keep, while conservar means to keep, to preserve. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use mantener when you mean to maintain, to keep, as in Mantengo la calma en la reunión.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of mantener — every tense of mantener in one place.
- Mantener 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 mantener and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of mantener until they are automatic.