sostener Preterite Conjugation
sostener — to hold up
Sostener uses the irregular 'uv' stem: sostuve, sostuviste, sostuvo, sostuvimos, sostuvisteis, sostuvieron.
sostener Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for a specific moment when someone caught or held something, or for a specific duration in the past.
Notes on sostener in the Preterite
This is a 'strong' preterite. The stem changes from 'sosten-' to 'sostuv-' and uses special endings without written accents.
Example Sentences
Sostuve al bebé por primera vez ayer.
I held the baby for the first time yesterday.
yo
Ella sostuvo la mirada durante un minuto.
She held the gaze for a minute.
él/ella/usted
Ellos sostuvieron la pancarta durante la marcha.
They held the banner during the march.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: sostení
Correct: sostuve
Why: Sostener does not follow regular -er preterite patterns; it follows the irregular pattern of 'tener'.
Mistake: sostuvio
Correct: sostuvo
Why: In the 'uv' preterite group, the third-person singular ending is simply -o, not -ió.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'sostener' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
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.
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.
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.