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Conjugation Chart of “Contener” (to contain) in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Contener”

The preterite of contener is used to express when something contained or held something at a specific point in the past. For example, “The box contained three books when I opened it” – “La caja contuvo tres libros cuando la abrí.”

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

How to Use Contener in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The Preterite of contener expresses completed actions of containing or restraining.

To contain/hold: Describes what something held or contained, for example La caja contuvo los documentos importantes (The box contained the important documents), or El dique contuvo el agua (The dam contained the water).

To restrain/hold back: Used for controlling or restraining, for example Contuve mi enojo (I contained my anger).

Real Life Examples of Contener in the Preterite (Past) Tense

La caja contuvo todos los documentos importantes. (The box contained all the important documents.)

Apenas contuve la risa durante la reunión. (I barely contained my laughter during the meeting.)

El informe contuvo información crucial. (The report contained crucial information.)

No contuvieron su emoción al recibir la noticia. (They didn’t contain their excitement upon receiving the news.)

Contuvimos el agua con sacos de arena. (We contained the water with sandbags.)

¿Cómo contuviste tu enojo? (How did you contain your anger?)

El museo contuvo obras de arte invaluables. (The museum contained invaluable artwork.)

Apenas contuvo las lágrimas durante la ceremonia. (She barely contained her tears during the ceremony.)

El archivo contuvo evidencia importante. (The file contained important evidence.)

Contuvimos la propagación del fuego. (We contained the spread of the fire.)

La botella contuvo un mensaje secreto. (The bottle contained a secret message.)

Apenas contuve el aliento durante la actuación. (I barely contained my breath during the performance.)

Contuvieron la multitud con barreras. (They contained the crowd with barriers.)

El sobre contuvo las fotografías antiguas. (The envelope contained the old photographs.)

¿Cómo contuviste la presión? (How did you contain the pressure?)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Contener (to contain) in the Preterite (Past) 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.