sostener Conditional Conjugation
sostener — to hold up
The conditional uses the 'sostend-' stem: sostendría, sostendrías, sostendría, sostendríamos, sostendríais, sostendrían.
sostener Conditional Forms
When to Use the Conditional
Use the conditional to say you 'would hold' something if you could, or to make polite offers.
Notes on sostener in the Conditional
The conditional shares the same irregular stem as the future (sostend-), but uses the -ía endings.
Example Sentences
¿Sostendrías la bolsa un momento, por favor?
Would you hold the bag for a moment, please?
tú
Yo sostendría mi opinión si tuviera pruebas.
I would maintain my opinion if I had proof.
yo
Sostendríamos el andamio si fuera necesario.
We would hold up the scaffolding if it were necessary.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: sostenería
Correct: sostendría
Why: Just like the future tense, the conditional requires the irregular 'sostend-' stem.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: sostengo
Sostener follows the 'tener' pattern: it has a 'go' in the yo form and a stem change (e to ie) for most others.
Preterite
yo: sostuve
Sostener uses the irregular 'uv' stem: sostuve, sostuviste, sostuvo, sostuvimos, sostuvisteis, sostuvieron.
Imperfect
yo: sostenía
Sostener is regular in the imperfect: sostenía, sostenías, sostenía, sosteníamos, sosteníais, sostenían.
Future
yo: sostendré
Sostener adds a 'd' to the stem: sostendré, sostendrás, sostendrá, sostendremos, sostendréis, sostendrán.
Present Subjunctive
yo: sostenga
The present subjunctive is based on the 'sosteng-' stem: sostenga, sostengas, sostenga, sostengamos, sostengáis, sostengan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: sostuviera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'sostuv-' stem: sostuviera, sostuvieras, sostuviera, sostuviéramos, sostuvierais, sostuvieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: sostén
The informal command is 'sostén'; others use the 'sosteng-' stem.
Negative Imperative
yo: no sostengas
Negative commands always use the present subjunctive forms: no sostengas, no sostenga, no sostengamos, no sostengáis, no sostengan.