Tenere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

tenere — to hold — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to hold and to keep something, and it is irregular in the present, where the stem changes: io tengo, tu tieni, lui tiene, loro tengono, while noi teniamo and voi tenete keep the plain stem. It also appears in expressions for keeping something in a place. On this page you will find tenere in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the tenere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the tenere passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with tenere

In the present tense

  • “Io tengo il libro ogni giorno.” — “I hold the book”
  • “Tu tieni il libro ogni giorno.” — “You hold the book”
  • “Lui tiene il libro ogni giorno.” — “He holds the book”
  • “Noi teniamo il libro ogni giorno.” — “We hold the book”
  • “Voi tenete il libro ogni giorno.” — “You hold the book”
  • “Loro tengono il libro ogni giorno.” — “They hold the book”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho tenuto il libro questa settimana.” — “I have held the book”
  • “Tu hai tenuto il libro questa settimana.” — “You have held the book”
  • “Lui ha tenuto il libro questa settimana.” — “He has held the book”
  • “Noi abbiamo tenuto il libro questa settimana.” — “We have held the book”
  • “Voi avete tenuto il libro questa settimana.” — “You have held the book”
  • “Loro hanno tenuto il libro questa settimana.” — “They have held the book”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Io tenevo il libro una volta.” — “I used to hold the book”
  • “Tu terrai il libro domani.” — “You will hold the book”
  • “Lui terrebbe il libro un giorno.” — “He would hold the book”
  • “È importante che noi teniamo il libro.” — “It is important that we hold the book”
  • “Tieni il libro!” — “Hold the book!”

How tenere is used

The first thing to know about tenere is its core meaning: to hold. It means to hold and to keep something, and it is irregular in the present, where the stem changes: io tengo, tu tieni, lui tiene, loro tengono, while noi teniamo and voi tenete keep the plain stem. It also appears in expressions for keeping something in a place. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the passato prossimo, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company tenere keeps. The present io form is tengo, and it pairs naturally with the time words ogni giorno and sempre for habits, and with adesso for what is happening right now. The passato prossimo io form is ho tenuto, and it pairs with ieri and questa settimana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what tenere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need tengo, never tenere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho tenuto, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle tenuto is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Tenere in context

Io tengo il libro ogni giorno. Tu tieni il libro ogni giorno. Lui tiene il libro ogni giorno. Noi teniamo il libro ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of tenere is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — tengo, tieni, tiene, teniamo — while the meaning stays the same: to hold. Io ho tenuto il libro questa settimana. Tu hai tenuto il libro questa settimana. Lui ha tenuto il libro questa settimana. Noi abbiamo tenuto il libro questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of tenere appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to hold — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Io tenere il libro.”

✓ Right: “Io tengo il libro ogni giorno.”

The infinitive tenere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form tengo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io tieni il libro.”

✓ Right: “Io tengo il libro ogni giorno.”

tieni is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is tengo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io tengo il libro ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho tenuto il libro questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho tenuto here, not the present tengo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono tenuto il libro.”

✓ Right: “Io ho tenuto il libro questa settimana.”

tenere takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho tenuto — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on tenere across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of tenere in the Present indicative?

    • A) tengo
    • B) tieni
    • C) tiene
    • D) teniamo

  2. What is the io form of tenere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai tenuto
    • B) ha tenuto
    • C) ho tenuto
    • D) abbiamo tenuto

  3. What is the lui/lei form of tenere in the Imperfect?

    • A) tenevo
    • B) tenevi
    • C) tenevamo
    • D) teneva

  4. What is the noi form of tenere in the Future?

    • A) terremo
    • B) terrò
    • C) terrai
    • D) terrà

  5. What is the tu form of tenere in the Conditional?

    • A) terrei
    • B) terresti
    • C) terrebbe
    • D) terremmo

  6. What is the io form of tenere in the Passato remoto?

    • A) tenesti
    • B) tenne
    • C) tenni
    • D) tenemmo

  7. What is the noi form of tenere in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) tenga
    • B) teniate
    • C) tengano
    • D) teniamo

  8. What is the gerund of tenere?

    • A) tenendo
    • B) tenuto
    • C) tenere
    • D) tengo

  9. What is the past participle of tenere?

    • A) tenendo
    • B) tenuto
    • C) tenere
    • D) tengo

  10. What does tenere mean in English?

  • A) to sit down
  • B) to get dressed
  • C) to hold
  • D) to call

Answer key

  1. B) tieni — the correct form is tieni. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho tenuto — the correct form is ho tenuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) teneva — the correct form is teneva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) terremo — the correct form is terremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) terresti — the correct form is terresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) tenni — the correct form is tenni. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) teniamo — the correct form is teniamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) tenendo — the correct form is tenendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) tenuto — the correct form is tenuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to hold — the correct form is to hold. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does tenere mean in English?

tenere means “to hold”. You use it whenever you talk about to hold in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.

Is tenere regular or irregular?

tenere is irregular. tenere is irregular in present, passato-remoto, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of tenere?

The gerund is tenendo and the past participle is tenuto. The perfect tenses use avere + tenuto.

Where can I see the full conjugation of tenere?

On the tenere conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The tenere passato prossimo tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for tenere, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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