Conjugations
Present Presente
Habits, current states, and general facts.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | retengo | |
| tú | retienes | |
| él / ella / usted | retiene | |
| nosotros / nosotras | retenemos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | retenéis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | retienen |
Preterite Pretérito perfecto simple
Actions viewed as completed events in the past.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | retuve | |
| tú | retuviste | |
| él / ella / usted | retuvo | |
| nosotros / nosotras | retuvimos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | retuvisteis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | retuvieron |
Imperfect Pretérito imperfecto
Past habits, descriptions, and actions in progress.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | retenía | |
| tú | retenías | |
| él / ella / usted | retenía | |
| nosotros / nosotras | reteníamos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | reteníais | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | retenían |
Future Futuro simple
Future events; also used to express a guess about the present.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | retendré | |
| tú | retendrás | |
| él / ella / usted | retendrá | |
| nosotros / nosotras | retendremos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | retendréis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | retendrán |
Conditional Condicional simple
Hypothetical events and some polite requests.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | retendría | |
| tú | retendrías | |
| él / ella / usted | retendría | |
| nosotros / nosotras | retendríamos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | retendríais | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | retendrían |
Present subjunctive Presente de subjuntivo
Used in certain clauses expressing wishes, doubt, feelings, and other non-asserted situations.
| Subject | Verb form | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| yo | retenga | |
| tú | retengas | |
| él / ella / usted | retenga | |
| nosotros / nosotras | retengamos | |
| vosotros / vosotras | retengáis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | retengan |
Use ustedes for plural “you” in Latin America. Its verb form matches ellos / ellas. Vos forms are not included. Google voice when available; device voice as a fallback.
Meaning & usage
- to retain, to remember
- to withhold, hold, to keep
- to hold back
English glosses are a starting point. The meaning of a verb can change with context, a preposition, or se. Read the full dictionary entry ↗
Meanings and conjugation data adapted from English Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki.org / Wiktextract. Frequency scores from wordfreq 3.1.1 by Robyn Speer and contributors. Adapted data is available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Entry source · Sources, download & limitations