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How to conjugate Contener in Spanish

To contain, to hold, to include Irregular Verb

Introduction

Contener is the Spanish verb for "to contain, to hold, to include". It is an irregular verb. Read on below to see how it is conjugated in the 18 major Spanish tenses!

Similar verbs to contener include: abarcar, incluir, guardar, sostener, sujetar.

ItemSpanishEnglish
Infinitivecontenerto contain, to hold, to include
Past participlecontenidocontained
Gerundconteniendocontaining

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Indicative Tenses of Contener

Contener in the Indicative Present

The Indicative Present of contener is used to talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths. For example, "contengo", meaning "I contain".

In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yocontengo I contain
contienes you contain
Ella / Él / Ustedcontiene s/he contains, you (formal) contain
Nosotras / Nosotroscontenemoswe contain
Vosotras / Vosotroscontenéisyou (plural) contain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescontienen they contain,

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Contener in the Indicative Preterite

The Indicative Preterite of contener is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, "contuve", meaning "I contained".

In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yocontuve I contained
contuviste you contained
Ella / Él / Ustedcontuvo s/he contained, you (formal) contained
Nosotras / Nosotroscontuvimos we contained
Vosotras / Vosotroscontuvisteis you (plural) contained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescontuvieron they contained,

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Contener in the Indicative Imperfect

The Indicative Imperfect of contener is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, "contenía", meaning "I used to contain".

In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoconteníaI used to contain
conteníasyou used to contain
Ella / Él / Ustedcontenías/he used to contain, you (formal) used to contain
Nosotras / Nosotrosconteníamoswe used to contain
Vosotras / Vosotrosconteníaisyou (plural) used to contain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesconteníanthey used to contain,

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Contener in the Indicative Present Continuous

The Indicative Present Continuous of contener is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, "estoy conteniendo", meaning "I am containing".

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestoy conteniendoI am containing
estás conteniendoyou are containing
Ella / Él / Ustedestá conteniendos/he is containing, you (formal) are containing
Nosotras / Nosotrosestamos conteniendowe are containing
Vosotras / Vosotrosestáis conteniendoyou (plural) are containing
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestán conteniendothey are containing,

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Contener in the Indicative Informal Future

The Indicative Informal Future of contener is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, "voy a contener", meaning "I am going to contain".

In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yovoy a contenerI am going to contain
vas a conteneryou are going to contain
Ella / Él / Ustedva a conteners/he is going to contain, you (formal) are going to contain
Nosotras / Nosotrosvamos a contenerwe are going to contain
Vosotras / Vosotrosvais a conteneryou (plural) are going to contain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesvan a contenerthey are going to contain,

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Contener in the Indicative Future

The Indicative Future of contener is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, "contendré", meaning "I will contain".

In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yocontendré I will contain
contendrás you will contain
Ella / Él / Ustedcontendrá s/he will contain, you (formal) will contain
Nosotras / Nosotroscontendremos we will contain
Vosotras / Vosotroscontendréis you (plural) will contain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescontendrán they will contain,

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Contener in the Indicative Conditional

The Indicative Conditional of contener is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, "contendría", meaning "I would contain".

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yocontendría I would contain
contendrías you would contain
Ella / Él / Ustedcontendría s/he would contain, you (formal) would contain
Nosotras / Nosotroscontendríamos we would contain
Vosotras / Vosotroscontendríais you (plural) would contain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescontendrían they would contain,

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Contener in the Indicative Present Perfect

The Indicative Present Perfect of contener is used to describe actions that started recently (in the past) and are still happening now or things that have been done recently. For example, "he contenido", meaning "I have contained".

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohe contenidoI have contained
has contenidoyou have contained
Ella / Él / Ustedha contenidos/he has contained, you (formal) have contained
Nosotras / Nosotroshemos contenidowe have contained
Vosotras / Vosotroshabéis contenidoyou (plural) have contained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshan contenidothey have contained,

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Contener in the Indicative Past Perfect

The Indicative Past Perfect of contener is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, "había contenido", meaning "I had contained".

In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabía contenidoI had contained
habías contenidoyou had contained
Ella / Él / Ustedhabía contenidos/he had contained, you (formal) had contained
Nosotras / Nosotroshabíamos contenidowe had contained
Vosotras / Vosotroshabíais contenidoyou (plural) had contained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabían contenidothey had contained,

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Contener in the Indicative Future Perfect

The Indicative Future Perfect of contener is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, "habré contenido", meaning "I will have contained".

In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabré contenidoI will have contained
habrás contenidoyou will have contained
Ella / Él / Ustedhabrá contenidos/he will have contained, you (formal) will have contained
Nosotras / Nosotroshabremos contenidowe will have contained
Vosotras / Vosotroshabréis contenidoyou (plural) will have contained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrán contenidothey will have contained,

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Contener in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

The Indicative Conditional Perfect of contener is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, "habría contenido", meaning "I would have contained".

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabría contenidoI would have contained
habrías contenidoyou would have contained
Ella / Él / Ustedhabría contenidos/he would have contained, you (formal) would have contained
Nosotras / Nosotroshabríamos contenidowe would have contained
Vosotras / Vosotroshabríais contenidoyou (plural) would have contained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrían contenidothey would have contained,

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Subjunctive Tenses of Contener

Contener in the Subjunctive Present

The Subjunctive Present is used to talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about. For example, "contenga", meaning "I contain".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yocontenga I contain
contengas you contain
Ella / Él / Ustedcontenga s/he contains, you (formal) contain
Nosotras / Nosotroscontengamos we contain
Vosotras / Vosotroscontengáis you (plural) contain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescontengan they contain,

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Contener in the Subjunctive Imperfect

The Subjunctive Imperfect is used to speak about unlikely or uncertain events in the past or to cast an opinion (emotional) about something that happened in the past. For example, "contuviera", meaning "I contained".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yocontuviera I contained
contuvieras you contained
Ella / Él / Ustedcontuviera s/he contained, you (formal) contained
Nosotras / Nosotroscontuviéramos we contained
Vosotras / Vosotroscontuvierais you (plural) contained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescontuvieran they contained,

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Contener in the Subjunctive Future

The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, "contuviere", meaning "I will contain".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yocontuviere I will contain
contuvieres you will contain
Ella / Él / Ustedcontuviere s/he will contain, you (formal) will contain
Nosotras / Nosotroscontuviéremos we will contain
Vosotras / Vosotroscontuviereis you (plural) will contain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescontuvieren they will contain,

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Contener in the Subjunctive Present Perfect

The Subjunctive Present Perfect is used to describe past actions or events that are still connected to the present day and to speak about an action that will have happened by a certain time in the future. For example, "haya contenido", meaning "I have contained".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohaya contenidoI have contained
hayas contenidoyou have contained
Ella / Él / Ustedhaya contenidos/he has contained, you (formal) have contained
Nosotras / Nosotroshayamos contenidowe have contained
Vosotras / Vosotroshayáis contenidoyou (plural) have contained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshayan contenidothey have contained,

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Contener in the Subjunctive Past Perfect

The Subjunctive Past Perfect is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that occurred before other actions/events in the past. For example, "hubiera contenido", meaning "I had contained".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiera contenidoI had contained
hubieras contenidoyou had contained
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiera contenidos/he had contained, you (formal) had contained
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéramos contenidowe had contained
Vosotras / Vosotroshubierais contenidoyou (plural) had contained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieran contenidothey had contained,

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Contener in the Subjunctive Future Perfect

The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used to speak about something that will have happened if a hypothetical situations occurs in the future. For example, "hubiere contenido", meaning "I will have contained".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiere contenidoI will have contained
hubieres contenidoyou will have contained
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiere contenidos/he will have contained, you (formal) will have contained
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéremos contenidowe will have contained
Vosotras / Vosotroshubiereis contenidoyou (plural) will have contained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieren contenidothey will have contained,

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Imperative Tenses of Contener

Contener in the Imperative Affirmative

The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, "contenga", meaning "(to you formal) contain!".

In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
contén (to you) contain!
Ella / Él / Ustedcontenga (to you formal) contain!
Nosotras / Nosotroscontengamos let's contain!
Vosotras / Vosotroscontened(to you plural) contain!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedescontengan (to you plural formal) contain!

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Contener in the Imperative Negative

The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, "no contenga", meaning "(to you formal) don't contain!".

In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
no contengas (to you) don't contain!
Ella / Él / Ustedno contenga (to you formal) don't contain!
Nosotras / Nosotrosno contengamos let's not contain!
Vosotras / Vosotrosno contengáis (to you plural) don't contain!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesno contengan (to you plural formal) don't contain!

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Downloadable cheat sheets

Download and print a cheat sheet of Contener Spanish conjugation tables in image or PDF format:

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