The Imperfect Tense of mantener is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Mantenía la casa limpia. (I used to keep the house clean.)

Mantener is a standard Spanish verb that follows the regular -ía conjugation pattern in the Imperfect Tense.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Mantener (to maintain) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The imperfect tense of mantener is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past.

Describing an ongoing action in the past: For example, Mantenía la puerta abierta para que entrara aire fresco. (I was keeping the door open so that fresh air could come in.)

Describing a repeated or habitual action in the past: For example, Mantenía la casa limpia y ordenada. (I used to keep the house clean and tidy.)

Describing a state or condition in the past: For example, Mantenía la esperanza de encontrar un trabajo mejor. (I was maintaining the hope of finding a better job.)

Describing a continuous background action in the past: For example, Mientras mantenía la conversación, preparaba la cena. (While I was maintaining the conversation, I was preparing dinner.)

Expressing politeness or courtesy (colloquial): For example, Mantenía que no era necesario pagar la cuenta. (I insisted that it wasn’t necessary to pay the bill.)

Examples

Examples of Mantener in the Imperfect Tense

Yo mantenía una dieta estricta para bajar de peso. (I was maintaining a strict diet to lose weight.)

Ellos mantenían la esperanza de encontrar a su mascota perdida. (They were keeping hope of finding their lost pet.)

Nosotros manteníamos una buena relación con nuestros vecinos. (We were maintaining a good relationship with our neighbors.)

Tú mantenías el orden en la clase mientras el profesor estaba ausente. (You were keeping order in the class while the teacher was absent.)

Vosotros manteníais la tradición de reuniros en familia durante las fiestas. (You all were maintaining the tradition of gathering as a family during holidays.)

Ella mantenía un blog sobre viajes y aventuras. (She was maintaining a blog about travel and adventures.)

Ustedes mantenían la calma en situaciones estresantes. (You all were keeping calm in stressful situations.)

Él mantenía un estilo de vida saludable haciendo ejercicio regularmente. (He was maintaining a healthy lifestyle by exercising regularly.)

¿Mantenías tu habitación limpia cuando eras niño? (Were you keeping your room clean when you were a child?)

Las empresas mantenían altos estándares de calidad en sus productos. (The companies were maintaining high quality standards in their products.)

Mis abuelos mantenían vivas las tradiciones familiares. (My grandparents were keeping family traditions alive.)

¿Por qué mantenías esa actitud negativa? (Why were you maintaining that negative attitude?)

Los activistas mantenían su lucha por los derechos humanos. (The activists were maintaining their fight for human rights.)

Nosotras manteníamos un buen equilibrio entre el trabajo y la vida personal. (We were maintaining a good balance between work and personal life.)

Vosotros manteníais la calma incluso en las situaciones más difíciles. (You all were keeping calm even in the most difficult situations.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Mantener (to maintain) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

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.