retener Imperfect Conjugation
retener — to keep
The imperfect of retener is regular: retenía, retenías, retenía, reteníamos, reteníais, retenían.
retener Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use this for ongoing states or habits in the past, like 'I used to hold the door' or 'The dam was holding the water.'
Notes on retener in the Imperfect
This tense is completely regular for retener. All forms have an accent on the 'í'.
Example Sentences
Antes retenía los nombres con facilidad.
I used to retain names easily before.
yo
La presa retenía millones de litros.
The dam was holding back millions of liters.
él/ella/usted
Reteníamos el aliento durante la película.
We were holding our breath during the movie.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'reteniamos'.
Correct: reteníamos
Why: All forms of -er/-ir verbs in the imperfect require an accent on the 'i'.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: retengo
In the present, retener changes 'e' to 'ie' in most forms and has a 'yo' form ending in -go.
Preterite
yo: retuve
The preterite of retener is highly irregular, using the 'uv' stem: retuve, retuviste, retuvo.
Future
yo: retendré
The future of retener uses the irregular stem 'retendr-': retendré, retendrás, etc.
Conditional
yo: retendría
The conditional uses the irregular stem 'retendr-': retendría, retendrías, retendría.
Present Subjunctive
yo: retenga
The present subjunctive of retener uses the stem 'reteng-' and is used for doubts or requests about keeping something.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: retuviera
The imperfect subjunctive of retener uses the irregular 'retuv-' stem: retuviera, retuvieras, retuviera.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: retén
The imperative for retener has a short 'tú' form: retén.
Negative Imperative
yo: no retengas
The negative imperative always uses the present subjunctive forms: no retengas, no retenga.