Sostener Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Sostener means “to hold, to sustain”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Sostener means to hold or to sustain, and it covers holding a baby, holding a ladder steady, sustaining an argument and holding a note in music. It follows the pattern of tener, with the present sostengo, the preterite sostuve and the future sostendré. This page shows sostener 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 sostengo al bebé con cuidado.” — I hold the baby carefully.
Sostener in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how sostener 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 sostener in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Sostengo al bebé con cuidado.” — I hold the baby carefully.
“¿Tú sostienes la escalera mientras sube?” — Do you hold the ladder while he climbs?
“Sostiene una opinión con argumentos.” — He/she holds an opinion with arguments.
“Sostenemos el peso con las dos manos.” — We hold the weight with both hands.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show sostener in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo sostuve al bebé con cuidado.” — Yesterday, I held the baby carefully. (preterite)
“Él sostenía la escalera mientras sube todos los días.” — He used to hold the ladder while he climbs 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 sostener stays the same.
“Nosotros sostendremos una opinión con argumentos mañana.” — We will hold an opinion with arguments tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has sostenido el peso con las dos manos?” — Have you held the weight with both hands? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Sostenéis al bebé con cuidado.” — You hold the baby carefully.
“Sostienen la escalera mientras sube.” — They hold the ladder while he climbs.
“Sostengo una opinión con argumentos.” — I hold an opinion with arguments.
“Sostiene el peso con las dos manos.” — He/she holds the weight with both hands.
Sostener 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 sostener appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú sostienes al bebé con cuidado?” — Do you hold the baby carefully?
Carlos: “Sí, yo sostengo al bebé con cuidado.” — Yes, I hold the baby carefully.
Lucía: “Nosotros sostenemos la escalera mientras sube.” — We hold the ladder while he climbs.
Carlos: “Y ellos sostienen una opinión con argumentos.” — And they hold an opinion with arguments.
Lucía: “Vosotros sostenéis el peso con las dos manos.” — You hold the weight with both hands.
Carlos: “Sí, y él sostiene la escalera mientras sube.” — Yes, and he holds the ladder while he climbs.
A short paragraph
Lucía sostiene al bebé con cuidado, y Carlos sostiene la escalera mientras sube. Nosotros sostenemos una opinión con argumentos, y ellos sostienen el peso con las dos manos. Yo sostengo una opinión con argumentos, y mi padre sostiene el peso con las dos manos. Sostener is part of everyday life, because to hold, to sustain is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with sostener
These are the errors learners actually make with sostener. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo sostiene al bebé con cuidado.” Right: “Yo sostengo al bebé con cuidado.” Why: The person matters: sostiene is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is sostengo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Yo sosteno la escalera mientras sube.” Right: “Yo sostengo la escalera mientras sube.” Why: Sostener 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 sostener and aguantar as identical in every context.” Right: “Sostener means to hold, to sustain, while aguantar means to hold up, to endure.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: sostener fits sentences such as Sostengo al bebé con cuidado, while aguantar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy sostenido la escalera mientras sube.” Right: “Yo he sostenido la escalera mientras sube.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he sostenido, has sostenido, ha sostenido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo sostuve una opinión con argumentos todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo sostenía una opinión con argumentos todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (sostenía), not the preterite. The preterite (sostuve) is for one finished action.
Quiz: sostener in use
Ten questions on sostener in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ al bebé con cuidado.” (The baby carefully.)
- (a) sostenéis
- (b) sostengo
- (c) sostienes
Answer: sostenéis — The vosotros/as form of sostener in the present is sostenéis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ la escalera mientras sube.” (The ladder while he climbs.)
- (a) sostengo
- (b) sostienes
- (c) sostienen
Answer: sostienen — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of sostener in the present is sostienen.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ al bebé con cuidado.” (The baby carefully.)
- (a) sostuvo
- (b) sostuve
- (c) sostuviste
Answer: sostuve — The yo form of sostener in the preterite is sostuve.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ la escalera mientras sube.” (The ladder while he climbs.)
- (a) sostenía
- (b) sostenías
- (c) sosteníamos
Answer: sostenía — The él/ella/Ud. form of sostener in the imperfect is sostenía.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ una opinión con argumentos.” (An opinion with arguments.)
- (a) sostendré
- (b) sostendrás
- (c) sostendremos
Answer: sostendremos — The nosotros/as form of sostener in the future is sostendremos.
6. What does sostener mean in English?
- (a) to stop, to detain
- (b) to hold, to sustain
- (c) to hold up, to endure
Answer: to hold, to sustain — Sostener means “to hold, to sustain”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo sostengo al bebé con cuidado.
- (b) Ellos sostiene al bebé con cuidado.
- (c) Yo sostengo la escalera mientras sube ayer.
Answer: Yo sostengo al bebé con cuidado. — “Yo sostengo al bebé con cuidado.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I hold the baby carefully.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo sostienen al bebé con cuidado.
- (b) Yo sostuve al bebé con cuidado.
- (c) Yo sostengo al bebé con cuidado.
Answer: Yo sostengo al bebé con cuidado. — “Yo sostengo al bebé con cuidado.” 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 sostener in the present tense?
- (a) sostienes
- (b) sostenemos
- (c) sostengo
Answer: sostenemos — The nosotros form is sostenemos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo sostuve al bebé con cuidado.
- (b) Nosotros sostendremos al bebé con cuidado mañana.
- (c) Yo sostengo al bebé con cuidado.
Answer: Yo sostengo al bebé con cuidado. — “Yo sostengo al bebé con cuidado.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I hold' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo sostengo al bebé con cuidado'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo sostengo al bebé con cuidado todos los días'.
How do you say 'I hold' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo sostuve la escalera mientras sube'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo sostenía la escalera mientras sube todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he sostenido la escalera mientras sube'.
What is the difference between sostener and aguantar?
Sostener means to hold, to sustain, while aguantar means to hold up, to endure. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use sostener when you mean to hold, to sustain, as in Sostengo al bebé con cuidado.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of sostener — every tense of sostener in one place.
- Sostener 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 sostener and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of sostener until they are automatic.