contenir
Catalan
Alternative forms
- contindre
Etymology
From Latin continēre, present active infinitive of contineō.
Pronunciation
- (Balearic) IPA(key): /kon.təˈni/
- (Central) IPA(key): /kun.təˈni/
- (Valencian) IPA(key): /kon.teˈniɾ/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -i(ɾ)
Verb
contenir (first-person singular present continc, past participle contingut)
- to contain
Conjugation
Conjugation of contenir (second conjugation with velar infix, type tenir)
| infinitive | contenir | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present participle | contenint | ||||||
| past participle | masculine | feminine | |||||
| singular | contingut | continguda | |||||
| plural | continguts | contingudes | |||||
| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | jo | tu | ell/ella vostè | nosaltres nós | vosaltres vós | ells/elles vostès | |
| present | continc | contens | conté | contenim | conteniu | contenen | |
| imperfect | contenia | contenies | contenia | conteníem | conteníeu | contenien | |
| future | contindré | contindràs | contindrà | contindrem | contindreu | contindran | |
| preterite | continguí | contingueres | contingué | continguérem | continguéreu | contingueren | |
| conditional | contindria | contindries | contindria | contindríem | contindríeu | contindrien | |
| subjunctive | jo | tu | ell/ella vostè | nosaltres nós | vosaltres vós | ells/elles vostès | |
| present | contingui | continguis | contingui | continguem | contingueu | continguin | |
| imperfect | contingués | continguessis | contingués | continguéssim | continguéssiu | continguessin | |
| imperative | — | tu | vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres vós | vostès | |
| — | contén | contingui | continguem | conteniu | continguin | ||
French
Etymology
From Old French contenir, borrowed from Latin continēre, present active infinitive of contineō.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kɔ̃t.niʁ/
audio (file)
Verb
contenir
- to contain (To have in)
- to contain, to hold back (control, e.g. a disease, tears), to keep in check (control something that might hurt you, e.g. emotions)
- to hold, to take, to seat (To have a capacity of)
Conjugation
This is a verb in a group of -ir verbs. All verbs ending in -tenir, such as retenir and détenir, are conjugated this way. Such verbs are the only verbs whose the past historic and subjunctive imperfect endings do not start in one of these thematic vowels (-a-, -i-, -u-).
Conjugation of contenir (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| infinitive | simple | contenir | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | contenant /kɔ̃t.nɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | contenu /kɔ̃t.ny/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | contiens /kɔ̃.tjɛ̃/ | contiens /kɔ̃.tjɛ̃/ | contient /kɔ̃.tjɛ̃/ | contenons /kɔ̃t.nɔ̃/ | contenez /kɔ̃t.ne/ | contiennent /kɔ̃.tjɛn/ |
| imperfect | contenais /kɔ̃t.nɛ/ | contenais /kɔ̃t.nɛ/ | contenait /kɔ̃t.nɛ/ | contenions /kɔ̃.tə.njɔ̃/ | conteniez /kɔ̃.tə.nje/ | contenaient /kɔ̃t.nɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | contins /kɔ̃.tɛ̃/ | contins /kɔ̃.tɛ̃/ | contint /kɔ̃.tɛ̃/ | contînmes /kɔ̃.tɛ̃m/ | contîntes /kɔ̃.tɛ̃t/ | continrent /kɔ̃.tɛ̃ʁ/ | |
| future | contiendrai /kɔ̃.tjɛ̃.dʁe/ | contiendras /kɔ̃.tjɛ̃.dʁa/ | contiendra /kɔ̃.tjɛ̃.dʁa/ | contiendrons /kɔ̃.tjɛ̃.dʁɔ̃/ | contiendrez /kɔ̃.tjɛ̃.dʁe/ | contiendront /kɔ̃.tjɛ̃.dʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | contiendrais /kɔ̃.tjɛ̃.dʁɛ/ | contiendrais /kɔ̃.tjɛ̃.dʁɛ/ | contiendrait /kɔ̃.tjɛ̃.dʁɛ/ | contiendrions /kɔ̃.tjɛ̃.dʁi.jɔ̃/ | contiendriez /kɔ̃.tjɛ̃.dʁi.je/ | contiendraient /kɔ̃.tjɛ̃.dʁɛ/ | |
| (compound tenses) | present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior2 | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | contienne /kɔ̃.tjɛn/ | contiennes /kɔ̃.tjɛn/ | contienne /kɔ̃.tjɛn/ | contenions /kɔ̃.tə.njɔ̃/ | conteniez /kɔ̃.tə.nje/ | contiennent /kɔ̃.tjɛn/ |
| imperfect2 | continsse /kɔ̃.tɛ̃s/ | continsses /kɔ̃.tɛ̃s/ | contînt /kɔ̃.tɛ̃/ | continssions /kɔ̃.tɛ̃.sjɔ̃/ | continssiez /kɔ̃.tɛ̃.sje/ | continssent /kɔ̃.tɛ̃s/ | |
| (compound tenses) | past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | contiens /kɔ̃.tjɛ̃/ | — | contenons /kɔ̃t.nɔ̃/ | contenez /kɔ̃t.ne/ | — | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
| 1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). | |||||||
Related terms
- contenance
- contenant
- content
- contenu
Further reading
- “contenir”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Old French
Alternative forms
- cuntenir
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin continēre, present active infinitive of contineō.
Verb
contenir
- (reflexive, se contenir) to control oneself, to keep one's feelings and behavior in check
- (reflexive, se contenir) to behave (in a given way)
Conjugation
This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. This verb has a stressed present stem contien distinct from the unstressed stem conten, as well as other irregularities. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.
Conjugation of se contenir (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)
| simple | compound | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | se contenir | estre contenu | |||||
| gerund | en contenant | Use the gerund of estre followed by the past participle | |||||
| present participle | contenant | ||||||
| past participle | contenu | ||||||
| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | jo | tu | il | nos | vos | il | |
| simple tenses | present | me contieng, me contien | te contiens | se contient | nos contenons | vos contenez | se contienent |
| imperfect | me contenoie, me conteneie | te contenoies, te conteneies | se contenoit, se conteneit | nos conteniiens, nos conteniens | vos conteniiez, vos conteniez | se contenoient, se conteneient | |
| preterite | me contin | te contenis | se contint | nos contenimes | vos contenistes | se contindrent, se continrent | |
| future | me contendrai | te contendras | se contendra | nos contendrons | vos contendroiz, vos contendreiz, vos contendrez | se contendront | |
| conditional | me contendroie, me contendreie | te contendroies, te contendreies | se contendroit, se contendreit | nos contendriiens, nos contendriens | vos contendriiez, vos contendriez | se contendroient, se contendreient | |
| compound tenses | present perfect | Use the present tense of estre followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect tense of estre followed by the past participle | ||||||
| past anterior | Use the preterite tense of estre followed by the past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | Use the future tense of estre followed by the past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | Use the conditional tense of estre followed by the past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que jo | que tu | qu’il | que nos | que vos | qu’il | |
| simple tenses | present | me contiegne | te contiegnes | se contiegne | nos contiegniens, nos contiegnons | vos contiegniez | se contiegnent |
| imperfect | me contenisse | te contenisses | se contenist | nos contenissons, nos contenissiens | vos contenissoiz, vos contenissez, vos contenissiez | se contenissent | |
| compound tenses | past | Use the present subjunctive of estre followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect subjunctive of estre followed by the past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | tu | – | nos | vos | – | |
| — | contien-toi | — | contenons-nos | contenez-vos | — | ||
Related terms
- countenance
Descendants
- English: contain
- French: contenir
- Norman: cont'nîn