What does sostener mean in English?

Sostener means "to hold" in English.

How do you conjugate sostener in Spanish?

Sostener is conjugated across all Spanish tenses including present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, subjunctive, and more. Each tense has specific conjugations for yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros, and ellos/ustedes. You can see complete conjugation tables with audio pronunciations on this page.

What should I know about using sostener?

Sostener is irregular like tener

What verbs are related to sostener?

Verbs related to sostener include: tener, mantener. These verbs share similar meanings, stems, or conjugation patterns.

How do you use sostener in a sentence?

Example: "Sostuve la puerta abierta." which means "I held the door open." in English.

What are synonyms for sostener?

Spanish synonyms for sostener include: apoyar, sujetar. The exact synonym to use depends on the context and specific meaning intended.

Sostener

to hold

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

sostener

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

sosteniendo

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

sostenido

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	sosteno I hold	I hold
tú	sostenes you hold	you hold
él/ella/usted	sostene he/she/you holds	he/she/you holds
nosotros	sostenemos we hold	we hold
vosotros	sostenéis you all hold	you all hold
ellos/ustedes	sostenen they/you all hold	they/you all hold

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	sostenía I used to hold	I used to hold
tú	sostenías you used to hold	you used to hold
él/ella/usted	sostenía he/she/you used to hold	he/she/you used to hold
nosotros	sosteníamos we used to hold	we used to hold
vosotros	sosteníais you all used to hold	you all used to hold
ellos/ustedes	sostenían they/you all used to hold	they/you all used to hold

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	sostení I held	I held
tú	sosteniste you held	you held
él/ella/usted	sostenió he/she/you held	he/she/you held
nosotros	sostenimos we held	we held
vosotros	sostenisteis you all held	you all held
ellos/ustedes	sostenieron they/you all held	they/you all held

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	sosteneré I will hold	I will hold
tú	sostenerás you will hold	you will hold
él/ella/usted	sostenerá he/she/you will hold	he/she/you will hold
nosotros	sosteneremos we will hold	we will hold
vosotros	sosteneréis you all will hold	you all will hold
ellos/ustedes	sostenerán they/you all will hold	they/you all will hold

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	sostenería I would hold	I would hold
tú	sostenerías you would hold	you would hold
él/ella/usted	sostenería he/she/you would hold	he/she/you would hold
nosotros	sosteneríamos we would hold	we would hold
vosotros	sosteneríais you all would hold	you all would hold
ellos/ustedes	sostenerían they/you all would hold	they/you all would hold

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	sostena that I hold	that I hold
tú	sostenas that you hold	that you hold
él/ella/usted	sostena that he/she/you hold	that he/she/you hold
nosotros	sostenamos that we hold	that we hold
vosotros	sostenáis that you all hold	that you all hold
ellos/ustedes	sostenan that they/you all hold	that they/you all hold

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	sosteniera or sosteniese that I held	that I held
tú	sostenieras or sostenieses that you held	that you held
él/ella/usted	sosteniera or sosteniese that he/she/you held	that he/she/you held
nosotros	sosteniéramos or sosteniésemos that we held	that we held
vosotros	sostenierais or sostenieseis that you all held	that you all held
ellos/ustedes	sostenieran or sosteniesen that they/you all held	that they/you all held

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	he sostenido I have held	I have held
tú	has sostenido you have held	you have held
él/ella/usted	ha sostenido he/she/you have held	he/she/you have held
nosotros	hemos sostenido we have held	we have held
vosotros	habéis sostenido you all have held	you all have held
ellos/ustedes	han sostenido they/you all have held	they/you all have held

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	había sostenido I had held	I had held
tú	habías sostenido you had held	you had held
él/ella/usted	había sostenido he/she/you had held	he/she/you had held
nosotros	habíamos sostenido we had held	we had held
vosotros	habíais sostenido you all had held	you all had held
ellos/ustedes	habían sostenido they/you all had held	they/you all had held

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hube sostenido I had held	I had held
tú	hubiste sostenido you had held	you had held
él/ella/usted	hubo sostenido he/she/you had held	he/she/you had held
nosotros	hubimos sostenido we had held	we had held
vosotros	hubisteis sostenido you all had held	you all had held
ellos/ustedes	hubieron sostenido they/you all had held	they/you all had held

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habré sostenido I will have held	I will have held
tú	habrás sostenido you will have held	you will have held
él/ella/usted	habrá sostenido he/she/you will have held	he/she/you will have held
nosotros	habremos sostenido we will have held	we will have held
vosotros	habréis sostenido you all will have held	you all will have held
ellos/ustedes	habrán sostenido they/you all will have held	they/you all will have held

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habría sostenido I would have held	I would have held
tú	habrías sostenido you would have held	you would have held
él/ella/usted	habría sostenido he/she/you would have held	he/she/you would have held
nosotros	habríamos sostenido we would have held	we would have held
vosotros	habríais sostenido you all would have held	you all would have held
ellos/ustedes	habrían sostenido they/you all would have held	they/you all would have held

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	haya sostenido that I have held	that I have held
tú	hayas sostenido that you have held	that you have held
él/ella/usted	haya sostenido that he/she/you have held	that he/she/you have held
nosotros	hayamos sostenido that we have held	that we have held
vosotros	hayáis sostenido that you all have held	that you all have held
ellos/ustedes	hayan sostenido that they/you all have held	that they/you all have held

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hubiera sostenido that I had held	that I had held
tú	hubieras sostenido that you had held	that you had held
él/ella/usted	hubiera sostenido that he/she/you had held	that he/she/you had held
nosotros	hubiéramos sostenido that we had held	that we had held
vosotros	hubierais sostenido that you all had held	that you all had held
ellos/ustedes	hubieran sostenido that they/you all had held	that they/you all had held

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	sostene	hold! (you)
usted	sostena	hold! (you formal)
nosotros	sostenamos	let's hold!
vosotros	sostened	hold! (you all)
ustedes	sostenan	hold! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no sostenas	don't hold! (you)
usted	no sostena	don't hold! (you formal)
nosotros	no sostenamos	let's not hold!
vosotros	no sostenáis	don't hold! (you all)
ustedes	no sostenan	don't hold! (you all)

More About "sostener"

Examples in Context

Sostuve la puerta abierta.

I held the door open.

Preterite

Sostengo que es correcto.

I maintain that it's correct.

Present

Han sostenido su argumento.

They have supported their argument.

Present Perfect

Sostendré mi posición.

I will uphold my position.

Future

Related Verbs

tener(to have)

same stem - base verb

mantener(to maintain)

same stem - to maintain

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

apoyar(to support)

More about backing or endorsing

sujetar(to hold, to support)

More about physically holding

Usage Notes

•Sostener is irregular like tener
•Stem changes: sostengo, sostienes, sostiene
•Irregular preterite: sostuve, sostuviste, sostuvo
•Main meanings: to support, to hold up, to maintain (an argument)

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Sostener

Simple Tenses

Compound Tenses

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Synonyms:

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