/təniʁ/
Translation
to hold, to keep
Word origin
From Vulgar Latin tenire, from Latin tenere ('to hold, to keep').
- Origin
- Latin
- Root
- tenere
- English cognates
- tenant, tenacious, tenure
Grammar
Conjugation
Regular french-irregular conjugation. Pronouns: je, tu, il/elle, nous, vous, ils/elles.
Indicative
| Person | Present | Imperfect | Past historic | Future | Conditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | tiens | tenais | tins | tiendrai | tiendrais |
| tu | tiens | tenais | tins | tiendras | tiendrais |
| il/elle | tient | tenait | tint | tiendra | tiendrait |
| nous | tenons | tenions | tînmes | tiendrons | tiendrions |
| vous | tenez | teniez | tîntes | tiendrez | tiendriez |
| ils/elles | tiennent | tenaient | tinrent | tiendront | tiendraient |
Subjunctive
| Person | Present | Imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| je | tienne | tinsse |
| tu | tiennes | tinsses |
| il/elle | tienne | tînt |
| nous | tenions | tinssions |
| vous | teniez | tinssiez |
| ils/elles | tiennent | tinssent |
Imperative
| Person | Affirmative |
|---|---|
| tu | tiens |
| nous | tenons |
| vous | tenez |
Non-finite
- Gerund / present participle
- tenant
- Past participle
- tenu · tenue · tenus · tenues
Examples
, ' , j' chargees.
Hold the door please, my hands are full.
principes .
He holds firm to his principles in all situations.
- , ' sûre .
Hold on tight, the road is not safe this morning.
corde, puits.
Hold the rope tightly, I am going down into the well.
promesse, ' .
He managed to keep that promise right to the end.
Tenir est un verbe irregulier du troisieme groupe, conjugue comme venir. Tenir + complement d'objet signifie tenir, maintenir. Tenir a + nom ou infinitif exprime l'attachement ou l'insistance : je tiens a te remercier (I really want to thank you). Se tenir (to stand, to behave) est la forme pronominale.
Tiens ! est une interjection de surprise ou d'invitation : Tiens, regarde ! (Oh look!), Tiens, prends ca (Here, take this). Tenir bon (to hold firm) et tenir parole (to keep one's word) sont des expressions de fiabilite. S'en tenir a (to stick to) delimite un cadre.
Used in
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