The Imperfect Tense of contener is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Ella contenía su ira mientras escuchaba las críticas. (She contained her anger while listening to the criticism.)
Contener follows the standard conjugation pattern for verbs ending in -er in the Imperfect Tense, with the ending -ía for all subjects.
Conjugations
Conjugations of Contener (to contain) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Yo | contenía |
| Tú | contenías |
| Él / Ella / Usted | contenía |
| Nosotros / Nosotras | conteníamos |
| Vosotros / Vosotras | conteníais |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | contenían |
Boost Your Memorization with Audio!
We’ve included audio recordings of the the conjugations of Contener (to contain) in the Imperfect Tense to help you learn faster.
Pro Tip: Play the audio on a loop as you study the chart. This repetition will solidify the correct conjugations in your memory.
Usage of Contener in the Imperfect Tense
The imperfect tense of contener is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past.
Expressing an ongoing action in the past: For example, El río contenía mucha agua. (The river contained a lot of water.)
Describing repeated or habitual actions in the past: For example, Ella contenía su ira cuando discutían. (She contained her anger when they argued.)
Expressing a state or condition in the past: For example, El libro contenía información valiosa. (The book contained valuable information.)
Expressing an action interrupted by another in the past: For example, Contenía la respiración mientras esperaba. (He/She was holding his/her breath while waiting.)
Expressing a polite request or command in the past (colloquial): For example, ¿Contenías tu lengua, por favor? (Could you hold your tongue, please?)
Examples
Examples of Contener in the Imperfect Tense
Cuando era niño, mi abuela contenía su ira con mucha paciencia. (When I was a child, my grandmother contained her anger with great patience.)
El equipo de fútbol contenía al delantero rival con una defensa sólida. (The soccer team contained the opposing striker with a solid defense.)
La multitud contenía la respiración mientras el acróbata caminaba por la cuerda floja. (The crowd held its breath as the acrobat walked the tightrope.)
El político contenía sus emociones durante el debate televisado. (The politician contained his emotions during the televised debate.)
La madre contenía las lágrimas de felicidad en la graduación de su hija. (The mother contained tears of joy at her daughter’s graduation.)
El jardinero contenía el crecimiento de las malas hierbas con herbicidas. (The gardener contained the growth of weeds with herbicides.)
El escritor contenía su emoción mientras leía el primer borrador de su novela. (The writer contained his excitement while reading the first draft of his novel.)
La policía contenía a los manifestantes para evitar disturbios. (The police contained the protesters to prevent riots.)
El chef contenía los aromas de las especias en la olla de estofado. (The chef contained the aromas of the spices in the stew pot.)
El atleta contenía su respiración antes de saltar a la piscina. (The athlete held his breath before jumping into the pool.)
La empresa contenía los costos para mantener los precios bajos. (The company contained costs to keep prices low.)
El orador contenía sus nervios mientras daba el discurso importante. (The speaker contained his nerves while giving the important speech.)
El equipo de rescate contenía el incendio forestal con agua y retardantes. (The rescue team contained the forest fire with water and retardants.)
Conjugations with English Translations
Conjugations of Contener (to contain) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Yo contenía | I was containing |
| Tú contenías | You were containing |
| Él / Ella / Usted contenía | He / She / You (formal) was containing |
| Nosotros / Nosotras conteníamos | We were containing |
| Vosotros / Vosotras conteníais | You all were containing |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes contenían | They / You all (formal) were containing |
This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here
Synonyms
The Imperfect tense is also known as the Past Imperfect, Descriptive Past, Past Progressive, or Imperfect Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Imperfecto, Copretérito, Imperfecto de Indicativo, or Pasado Descriptivo in Spanish.