Tenere Conjugation in Italian
tenere means “to hold” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 124 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. 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. This page gives you the complete conjugation of tenere — 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: “Io tengo il libro ogni giorno.” — “I hold the book.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: tenere
- English: to hold
- Verb type: Irregular -ere verb
- Irregular in: present, passato-remoto, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: tenendo
- Present participle: tenente
- Past participle: tenuto
- Auxiliary: avere (all perfect tenses are formed with avere + the past participle)
- Ending: -ere verbs; pattern ere in the verified tables
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. 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 tenere in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about tenere
- It is irregular in 9 tense(s): present, passato-remoto, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. Learn those forms as a set instead of guessing them from the infinitive, because the stem changes in ways no rule predicts. Its present has the stem change tengo/tieni/tiene/tengono, while noi teniamo and voi tenete keep the plain stem.
- The perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle tenuto. 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 participles are tenente and tenuto: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past 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 tenere. Learn the present tense first, then the passato prossimo and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative (presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | tengo |
| tu | tieni |
| lui/lei | tiene |
| noi | teniamo |
| voi | tenete |
| loro | tengono |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io tengo il libro ogni giorno.” — “I hold the book”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | tenni |
| tu | tenesti |
| lui/lei | tenne |
| noi | tenemmo |
| voi | teneste |
| loro | tennero |
The passato remoto is used for completed actions in the distant past, mostly in written and literary Italian and in the south of Italy. For example: “Io tenni il libro ieri.” — “I held the book”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | tenevo |
| tu | tenevi |
| lui/lei | teneva |
| noi | tenevamo |
| voi | tenevate |
| loro | tenevano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io tenevo il libro una volta.” — “I used to hold the book”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | terrò |
| tu | terrai |
| lui/lei | terrà |
| noi | terremo |
| voi | terrete |
| loro | terranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io terrò il libro domani.” — “I will hold the book”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | terrei |
| tu | terresti |
| lui/lei | terrebbe |
| noi | terremmo |
| voi | terreste |
| loro | terrebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io terrei il libro un giorno.” — “I would hold the book”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho tenuto |
| tu | hai tenuto |
| lui/lei | ha tenuto |
| noi | abbiamo tenuto |
| voi | avete tenuto |
| loro | hanno tenuto |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha tenuto il libro questa settimana.” — “He has held the book”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo tenuto |
| tu | avevi tenuto |
| lui/lei | aveva tenuto |
| noi | avevamo tenuto |
| voi | avevate tenuto |
| loro | avevano tenuto |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo tenuto il libro prima della festa.” — “I had held the book”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò tenuto |
| tu | avrai tenuto |
| lui/lei | avrà tenuto |
| noi | avremo tenuto |
| voi | avrete tenuto |
| loro | avranno tenuto |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò tenuto il libro per domani.” — “I will have held the book”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei tenuto |
| tu | avresti tenuto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe tenuto |
| noi | avremmo tenuto |
| voi | avreste tenuto |
| loro | avrebbero tenuto |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei tenuto il libro ieri.” — “I would have held the book”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | tenga |
| tu | tenga |
| lui/lei | tenga |
| noi | teniamo |
| voi | teniate |
| loro | tengano |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io tenga il libro.” — “It is important that I hold the book”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | tenessi |
| tu | tenessi |
| lui/lei | tenesse |
| noi | tenessimo |
| voi | teneste |
| loro | tenessero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io tenessi il libro.” — “It was important that I hold the book”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | tieni |
| lui/lei | tenga |
| noi | teniamo |
| voi | tenete |
| loro | tengano |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Tieni il libro!” — “Hold the book!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | tenere |
| lui/lei | tenga |
| noi | teniamo |
| voi | teniate |
| loro | tengano |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non tenere il libro.” — “Do not hold the book.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | tenendo |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Tenendo il libro, imparo molto.” — “While holding the book, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | tenente |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle tenente is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.
Past participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Past participle | tenuto |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho tenuto il libro questa settimana.” — “I have held the book.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with tenere, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io tengo il libro ogni giorno.” — “I hold the book”
- “Tu tenesti il libro ieri.” — “You held the book”
- “Lui teneva il libro una volta.” — “He used to hold the book”
- “Io terrò il libro domani.” — “I will hold the book”
- “Tu terresti il libro un giorno.” — “You would hold the book”
- “Lui ha tenuto il libro questa settimana.” — “He has held the book”
- “Io avevo tenuto il libro prima della festa.” — “I had held the book”
- “Tu avrai tenuto il libro per domani.” — “You will have held the book”
- “È importante che io tenga il libro.” — “It is important that I hold the book”
- “Tieni il libro!” — “Hold the book!”
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’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io tieni il libro.”
✓ Right: “Io tengo il libro ogni giorno.”
tieni is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with tengo.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io tengo il libro ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho tenuto il libro questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho tenuto for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono tenuto il libro.”
✓ Right: “Io ho tenuto il libro questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of tenere is formed with avere plus the past participle tenuto: the io form is ho tenuto. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “È importante che io tengo il libro.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io tenga il libro.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use tenga here, not the indicative tengo.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho tenendo il libro.”
✓ Right: “Io ho tenuto il libro questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle tenuto, not the gerund tenendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on tenere. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of tenere in the Present indicative?
- A) tieni
- B) tengo
- C) tiene
- D) teniamo
What is the lui/lei form of tenere in the Passato remoto?
- A) tenni
- B) tenesti
- C) tenne
- D) tenemmo
What is the noi form of tenere in the Imperfect?
- A) tenevo
- B) tenevi
- C) teneva
- D) tenevamo
What is the tu form of tenere in the Future?
- A) terrai
- B) terrò
- C) terrà
- D) terremo
What is the io form of tenere in the Conditional?
- A) terresti
- B) terrei
- C) terrebbe
- D) terremmo
What is the lui/lei form of tenere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho tenuto
- B) hai tenuto
- C) ha tenuto
- D) abbiamo tenuto
What is the lui/lei form of tenere in the Present subjunctive?
- A) teniamo
- B) teniate
- C) tengano
- D) tenga
What is the io form of tenere in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) tenessi
- B) tenesse
- C) tenessimo
- D) teneste
What is the gerund of tenere?
- A) tenuto
- B) tenendo
- C) tenere
- D) tengo
What does tenere mean in English?
- A) to sit down
- B) to get dressed
- C) to hold
- D) to call
Answer key
- B) tengo — the correct form is tengo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) tenne — the correct form is tenne. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) tenevamo — the correct form is tenevamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) terrai — the correct form is terrai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) terrei — the correct form is terrei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha tenuto — the correct form is ha tenuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) tenga — the correct form is tenga. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) tenessi — the correct form is tenessi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) tenendo — the correct form is tenendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is tenere regular or irregular?
tenere is irregular: it is irregular in present, passato-remoto, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is tenendo and the past participle is tenuto.
What are the gerund and past participle of tenere?
The gerund is tenendo — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is tenuto — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho tenuto.
Which auxiliary does tenere take in the passato prossimo?
tenere takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho tenuto. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle tenuto.
How do I say “I hold” in Italian?
Say “Io tengo il libro ogni giorno.” — “I hold the book” The io form of the present is tengo, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of tenere — every tense of tenere in one place.
- Tenere in the passato prossimo tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Tenere examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Italian passato prossimo tense guide — the full guide to the passato prossimo tense in Italian.
- Italian irregular verbs — every common irregular Italian verb, grouped by pattern.
- Sedersi conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Scegliere conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Verb Conjugator — practise tenere with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise tenere with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise tenere with the interactive tool.