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French Grammar Guidebook

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Tenir is an irregular verb that is conjugated like venir and that occurs in a number of idiomatic expressions. Its forms are as follows:

TENIR—"to have, to hold"
 

je tiens
tu tiens
il, elle, on tient
nous tenons
vous tenez
ils, elles, tiennent

Command forms: tiens!, tenez!

Future: tiendr-

Past Participle: tenu

Here is a small sampling of idiomatic expressions with tenir:
 

Tiens! Here! (giving something to someone; informal); Wouldn't you know! (expression of surprise)
Tenez! Here! (giving something to someone; formal)
tenir tête à to stand up to
tenir un discours to make remarks
tenir parole to keep a promise, to be as good as one's words
tenir à + inf. to insist on, to prize, to result from
Il ne tient qu'à... It's up to...
tenir à distance to keep at arm's length
tenir de to take after
tenir de la place to take up space

Other words that are formed like tenir are retenir—"to hold back, retain"; soutenir—"to sustain, support"; obtenir—"to obtain, get"; maintenir—"to maintain"; and entretenir—"to entertain."



Examples of Tenir

  • C'est parfait. Tenez, voilà un Paris-Match.
  • Tenez, c'est pour vous.
  • Tiens! On passe "Carmen" ce soir.
  • Je tiens à mon travail.