The preterite of sostener is used to express when someone sustained or supported something at a specific moment in the past. For example, “He supported the team through the crisis” – “Sostuvo al equipo durante la crisis.”

This is an irregular verb in the preterite tense. Like other -tener verbs, it uses the stem ‘tuv-‘ throughout all conjugations.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Sostener (to sustain/support) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The Preterite of sostener indicates completed acts of supporting or maintaining.

To hold up/support: Used for physical support, for example Sostuve la escalera mientras él subía (I held the ladder while he climbed).

To maintain/sustain: Describes maintaining a position or argument, for example Sostuvo su opinión durante el debate (He maintained his opinion during the debate).

Examples

Examples of Sostener in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Sostuve la puerta mientras entraban. (I held the door while they entered.)

El pilar sostuvo todo el peso del edificio. (The pillar supported all the weight of the building.)

Sostuvimos una conversación muy importante. (We had a very important conversation.)

¿Por cuánto tiempo sostuviste esa posición? (How long did you hold that position?)

Los cables sostuvieron el puente durante la tormenta. (The cables held the bridge during the storm.)

Sostuvo su opinión frente al comité. (He maintained his opinion before the committee.)

Sostuve mi promesa hasta el final. (I kept my promise until the end.)

Las columnas sostuvieron el techo por siglos. (The columns supported the roof for centuries.)

Sostuvimos el ritmo durante toda la carrera. (We maintained the pace throughout the race.)

¿Sostuviste el paraguas todo el tiempo? (Did you hold the umbrella the whole time?)

Sostuvo la mirada sin pestañear. (He held the gaze without blinking.)

Sostuvimos la reunión en la sala principal. (We held the meeting in the main room.)

El equipo sostuvo su ventaja hasta el final. (The team maintained their advantage until the end.)

Sostuve el bebé mientras dormía. (I held the baby while he slept.)

Los argumentos no se sostuvieron ante el juez. (The arguments didn’t hold up before the judge.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Sostener (to sustain/support) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.