Tenir — to hold | French Verb Chart
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📚 This is the overview. « tenir » is taught level by level — pick your CEFR level below for a full lesson (explanation, pronunciation, exercises & games).
Présent (Indicatif)
- je tiensI hold
- tu tiensyou hold
- il / elle tienthe / she holds
- nous tenonswe hold
- vous tenezyou hold
- ils / elles tiennentthey hold
Passé composé (Indicatif)
- j’ai tenuI held
- tu as tenuyou held
- il / elle a tenuhe / she held
- nous avons tenuwe held
- vous avez tenuyou held
- ils / elles ont tenuthey held
Imparfait (Indicatif)
- je tenaisI was holding
- tu tenaisyou were holding
- il / elle tenaithe / she was holding
- nous tenionswe were holding
- vous teniezyou were holding
- ils / elles tenaientthey were holding
Futur simple (Indicatif)
- je tiendraiI will hold
- tu tiendrasyou will hold
- il / elle tiendrahe / she will hold
- nous tiendronswe will hold
- vous tiendrezyou will hold
- ils / elles tiendrontthey will hold
Conditionnel présent
- je tiendraisI would hold
- tu tiendraisyou would hold
- il / elle tiendraithe / she would hold
- nous tiendrionswe would hold
- vous tiendriezyou would hold
- ils / elles tiendraientthey would hold
Subjonctif présent
- que je tiennethat I hold
- que tu tiennesthat you hold
- qu’il / elle tiennethat he / she hold
- que nous tenionsthat we hold
- que vous teniezthat you hold
- qu’ils / elles tiennentthat they hold
Impératif, Participe & Infinitif
- tenirinfinitive
- tenantpresent participle
- en tenantgerund (gérondif)
- tenupast participle
- tiens · tenons · tenezimperative
- avoirauxiliary in compound tenses
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Five phrases with « tenir » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →
📘 How to use Tenir
- Conjugates exactly like venir (tiens/tient/tiennent + future tiendrai) — learn one, get both.
- Tenir à = to care about / be attached to: je tiens à toi (I care about you); tenir à + inf = to insist on.
- Tiens ! / Tenez ! = Here! (handing something over), and Tiens, tiens… = Well, well… (surprise).
🔑 Key forms
🔊 Common expressions
🇬🇧 Tenir in plain English: venir’s twin, holding everything
Tenir — to hold, to keep — is venir’s identical twin: je tiens, tu tiens, il tient, nous tenons, vous tenez, ils tiennent; futur je tiendrai, participle tenu — every stem move copied from venir with one crucial difference: tenir takes avoir in the past (j’ai tenu), while venir takes être. Learn the pair as a pair and the -enir system is complete, family included: maintenir (maintain), obtenir (obtain — j’ai obtenu), soutenir (support), retenir (retain/book), appartenir (belong) — all avoir, all tiendr- futures, all doubling the n with the stress like their parent.
Tenir’s genius is idiomatic reach. Tenir à + noun = to care deeply about: « je tiens à toi » — one of French’s quieter declarations of love. Tenir à + infinitive = to insist on: « je tiens à payer ». Se tenir = to behave or to stand: « tiens-toi bien ! » (behave!), « la réunion se tient à 15h » (the meeting is held). And the interjection tiens ! — “here you go / well, well!” — hands things over and expresses surprise a hundred times a day across France. Add « tenir le coup » (hold up under pressure) and « un magasin tenu par… » (a shop kept by…) and this chart quietly holds half of spoken French — venez pour la conjugaison, tenez pour les expressions.
FAQ
Which verbs conjugate like tenir?
The whole -tenir family (maintenir, obtenir, soutenir, retenir, appartenir) plus twin venir and ITS family — one pattern, a dozen verbs. Only the auxiliary differs: tenir-family takes avoir, venir-family être.
What does « je tiens à toi » mean?
“I care about you / you matter to me” — tenir à as attachment. With an infinitive it becomes insistence: je tiens à venir (I insist on coming).
What does « tiens ! » mean?
Handing something: “here”. As surprise: “well, well!”. Doubled — « tiens, tiens… » — it means someone’s been caught being interesting.
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
future (like viendrai): je ___ (tien+d)
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tiendrai
to care about someone = tenir ___ quelqu’un (preposition)
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à
Here! (handing over) = ___ ! (imperative)
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Tiens
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🎯 More practice — conjugation drill — all six tenses
je ___ (Tenir — present)
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tiens
tu ___ (Tenir — passé composé)
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as tenu
il ___ (Tenir — imperfect)
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tenait
nous ___ (Tenir — future)
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tiendrons
vous ___ (Tenir — conditional)
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tiendriez
Go further: Master the present tense — the full beginner guide.
Tenir conjugation FAQ
What is the present tense of tenir?
je tiens, tu tiens, il / elle tient, nous tenons, vous tenez, ils / elles tiennent. Full charts for every tense are above, each form with audio.
What is the past participle of tenir?
tenu — the passé composé is « j’ai tenu ». Tenir uses avoir as its auxiliary verb.
How do you say tenir in the future tense?
« je tiendrai » — the future stem never changes across persons, only the endings do.
What does tenir mean in English?
to hold. It is one of the essential French verbs — drill the present first, then the passé composé; those two tenses carry most conversations.
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🎬 All seven CEFR levels, end to end
« tenir » at every CEFR level — the tense, its forms and the mechanic that makes it stick. Practise it with the free games →