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Conjugation Chart of “Mantener” (to maintain) in the Imperfect Tense

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Understanding the Imperfect Tense of “Mantener”

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

Mantener follows the standard conjugation pattern for regular verbs ending in -er in the Imperfect Tense, using the endings -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -ían.

How to Use Mantener in the Imperfect Tense

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

Maintaining or keeping something: Por ejemplo, Mantenía la casa limpia mientras mis padres trabajaban. (I kept the house clean while my parents worked.)

Continuing an action: Por ejemplo, Mantenía la dieta estricta para bajar de peso. (I continued the strict diet to lose weight.)

Preserving or sustaining: Por ejemplo, La empresa mantenía sus altos estándares de calidad. (The company maintained its high quality standards.)

Supporting or providing for: Por ejemplo, Mis abuelos mantenían a toda la familia con su pensión. (My grandparents supported the whole family with their pension.)

Keeping a relationship or state: Por ejemplo, Mantenían una amistad cercana a pesar de la distancia. (They maintained a close friendship despite the distance.)

Slang: Mantener relaciones (sexuales): Por ejemplo, Mantenían relaciones en secreto. (They were secretly having sex.)

Real Life Examples of Mantener in the Imperfect Tense

Yo mantenía la esperanza de que todo saldría bien. (I kept the hope that everything would turn out well.)

Ellos mantenían una relación a distancia mientras estudiaban en diferentes ciudades. (They maintained a long-distance relationship while studying in different cities.)

La empresa mantenía altos estándares de calidad en sus productos. (The company maintained high quality standards for its products.)

Nosotros manteníamos la tradición de reunirnos en familia durante las fiestas. (We kept the tradition of gathering as a family during holidays.)

Ella mantenía un estilo de vida saludable con ejercicio y buena alimentación. (She maintained a healthy lifestyle with exercise and good nutrition.)

Tú mantenías la calma en situaciones estresantes, lo cual era admirable. (You kept your calm in stressful situations, which was admirable.)

El equipo mantenía las esperanzas de ganar el campeonato hasta el último minuto. (The team kept their hopes of winning the championship until the last minute.)

Mis amigos mantenían el chisme al tanto de lo que pasaba en el vecindario. (My friends kept up with the gossip about what was happening in the neighborhood.)

La policía mantenía un ojo avizor en las zonas de alta criminalidad. (The police kept a watchful eye on high-crime areas.)

Los activistas mantenían la lucha por los derechos humanos a pesar de las dificultades. (The activists kept up the fight for human rights despite the difficulties.)

Yo mantenía mi apartamento limpio y ordenado, aunque a veces era un reto. (I kept my apartment clean and tidy, although it was sometimes a challenge.)

Ellas mantenían una amistad cercana desde la infancia, a pesar de vivir en diferentes países. (They maintained a close friendship since childhood, despite living in different countries.)

El chef mantenía los ingredientes frescos y de alta calidad en su cocina. (The chef kept fresh, high-quality ingredients in his kitchen.)

Nosotros manteníamos la costumbre de ir de camping cada verano. (We kept the tradition of going camping every summer.)

Tú mantenías un perfil bajo en las redes sociales para proteger tu privacidad. (You kept a low profile on social media to protect your privacy.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

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

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian 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.