sostener Imperfect Conjugation
sostener — to hold up
Sostener is regular in the imperfect: sostenía, sostenías, sostenía, sosteníamos, sosteníais, sostenían.
sostener Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe a state of holding something over an indefinite period or to describe a background opinion you used to have.
Notes on sostener in the Imperfect
Sostener is regular in this tense. All forms keep the 'sosten-' stem and add the standard -ía endings with an accent on the 'i'.
Example Sentences
Mi abuelo siempre sostenía su bastón con fuerza.
My grandfather always held his cane tightly.
él/ella/usted
Sosteníamos la cuerda mientras ellos subían.
We were holding the rope while they climbed up.
nosotros
Ustedes sostenían una teoría muy interesante.
You all maintained a very interesting theory.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: sostenia
Correct: sostenía
Why: The imperfect for -er verbs always requires an accent on the letter 'i'.
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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.
Future
yo: sostendré
Sostener adds a 'd' to the stem: sostendré, sostendrás, sostendrá, sostendremos, sostendréis, sostendrán.
Conditional
yo: sostendría
The conditional uses the 'sostend-' stem: sostendría, sostendrías, sostendría, sostendríamos, sostendríais, sostendrían.
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.