atener Present Conjugation
atener — to abide by
The present tense of atenerse is irregular and shoe-shaped: me atengo, te atienes, se atiene...
atener Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use this for current habits or general truths about following rules or dealing with consequences (e.g., 'I abide by the law').
Notes on atener in the Present
It has a 'go' in the first person (atengo) and a stem change (e to ie) in all other forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Example Sentences
Yo siempre me atengo a la legalidad.
I always abide by the law.
yo
¿Tú te atienes a las consecuencias?
Do you abide by the consequences?
tú
Nosotros nos atenemos a vuestra decisión.
We abide by your decision.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Saying 'me ateno'.
Correct: The correct form is 'me atengo'.
Why: The verb follows 'tener', which adds a 'g' in the first person singular.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: me atuve
The preterite of atenerse is highly irregular, using the 'atuv-' stem: me atuve, te atuviste, se atuvo...
Imperfect
yo: me atenía
The imperfect of atenerse is regular: me atenía, te atenías, se atenía...
Future
yo: me atendré
The future tense of atenerse uses the irregular stem 'atendr-': me atendré, te atendrás, se atendrá...
Conditional
yo: me atendría
The conditional of atenerse uses the 'atendr-' stem: me atendría, te atendrías, se atendría...
Present Subjunctive
yo: me atenga
The present subjunctive of atenerse uses the irregular 'g' stem: me atenga, te atengas, se atenga...
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: me atuviera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the irregular 'atuv-' stem: me atuviera, te atuvieras, se atuviera...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: atenme
The imperative of atenerse gives direct orders: atente, aténgase, atengámonos...
Negative Imperative
yo: no te atengas
The negative imperative uses 'no' + present subjunctive: no te atengas, no se atenga...