1. Home>
  2. verbs>
  3. entretener

How to conjugate Entretener in Spanish

entretener to entertain Irregular Verb

At a glance: Entretener (to entertain) is a irregular verb in Spanish. In the present tense: entretengo, entretienes, entretiene, entretenemos, entretenéis, entretienen. It is conjugated like tener. Yo adds a g (entretengo); tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change e to ie (entretienes, entretiene, entretienen); nosotros and vosotros are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (entretuve), future (entretendré), conditional (entretendría) and subjunctive.

Past participle
entretenido entertained
Gerund
entreteniendo entertaining
Similar
divertir

Entretener conjugation tables as a PDF

A printable two-page cheat sheet, sent to your inbox.

Indicative tenses of Entretener

Entretener in the Indicative Present

The Indicative Present of entretener 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, “entretengo”, meaning “I entertain”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoentretengoI entertain
Túentretienesyou entertain
Ella / Él / Ustedentretienes/he entertains
Nosotras / Nosotrosentretenemoswe entertain
Vosotras / Vosotrosentretenéisyou (plural) entertain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesentretienenthey entertain

How it’s built: Yo adds a g (entretengo); tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change e to ie (entretienes, entretiene, entretienen); nosotros and vosotros are regular.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Entretener in the Indicative Preterite

The Indicative Preterite of entretener is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “entretuve”, meaning “I entertained”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoentretuveI entertained
Túentretuvisteyou entertained
Ella / Él / Ustedentretuvos/he entertained
Nosotras / Nosotrosentretuvimoswe entertained
Vosotras / Vosotrosentretuvisteisyou (plural) entertained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesentretuvieronthey entertained

How it’s built: Irregular stem entretuv- plus the endings -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Entretener in the Indicative Imperfect

The Indicative Imperfect of entretener is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “entretenía”, meaning “I used to entertain”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoentreteníaI used to entertain
Túentreteníasyou used to entertain
Ella / Él / Ustedentretenías/he used to entertain
Nosotras / Nosotrosentreteníamoswe used to entertain
Vosotras / Vosotrosentreteníaisyou (plural) used to entertain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesentreteníanthey used to entertain

How it’s built: Regular: stem entreten- plus the -er endings.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Entretener in the Indicative Present Continuous

The Indicative Present Continuous of entretener is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy entreteniendo”, meaning “I am entertaining”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestoy entreteniendoI am entertaining
Túestás entreteniendoyou are entertaining
Ella / Él / Ustedestá entreteniendos/he is entertaining
Nosotras / Nosotrosestamos entreteniendowe are entertaining
Vosotras / Vosotrosestáis entreteniendoyou (plural) are entertaining
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestán entreteniendothey are entertaining

How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund entreteniendo.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Entretener in the Indicative Informal Future

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

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yovoy a entretenerI am going to entertain
Túvas a entreteneryou are going to entertain
Ella / Él / Ustedva a entreteners/he is going to entertain
Nosotras / Nosotrosvamos a entretenerwe are going to entertain
Vosotras / Vosotrosvais a entreteneryou (plural) are going to entertain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesvan a entretenerthey are going to entertain

How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive entretener.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Entretener in the Indicative Future

The Indicative Future of entretener is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “entretendré”, meaning “I will entertain”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoentretendréI will entertain
Túentretendrásyou will entertain
Ella / Él / Ustedentretendrás/he will entertain
Nosotras / Nosotrosentretendremoswe will entertain
Vosotras / Vosotrosentretendréisyou (plural) will entertain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesentretendránthey will entertain

How it’s built: Irregular stem entretendr- instead of entretener, plus the future endings.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Entretener in the Indicative Conditional

The Indicative Conditional of entretener is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “entretendría”, meaning “I would entertain”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoentretendríaI would entertain
Túentretendríasyou would entertain
Ella / Él / Ustedentretendrías/he would entertain
Nosotras / Nosotrosentretendríamoswe would entertain
Vosotras / Vosotrosentretendríaisyou (plural) would entertain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesentretendríanthey would entertain

How it’s built: Irregular stem entretendr- instead of entretener, plus the conditional endings.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Entretener in the Indicative Present Perfect

The Indicative Present Perfect of entretener 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 entretenido”, meaning “I have entertained”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohe entretenidoI have entertained
Túhas entretenidoyou have entertained
Ella / Él / Ustedha entretenidos/he has entertained
Nosotras / Nosotroshemos entretenidowe have entertained
Vosotras / Vosotroshabéis entretenidoyou (plural) have entertained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshan entretenidothey have entertained

How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle entretenido.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Entretener in the Indicative Past Perfect

The Indicative Past Perfect of entretener is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había entretenido”, meaning “I had entertained”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabía entretenidoI had entertained
Túhabías entretenidoyou had entertained
Ella / Él / Ustedhabía entretenidos/he had entertained
Nosotras / Nosotroshabíamos entretenidowe had entertained
Vosotras / Vosotroshabíais entretenidoyou (plural) had entertained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabían entretenidothey had entertained

How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle entretenido.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Entretener in the Indicative Future Perfect

The Indicative Future Perfect of entretener is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré entretenido”, meaning “I will have entertained”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabré entretenidoI will have entertained
Túhabrás entretenidoyou will have entertained
Ella / Él / Ustedhabrá entretenidos/he will have entertained
Nosotras / Nosotroshabremos entretenidowe will have entertained
Vosotras / Vosotroshabréis entretenidoyou (plural) will have entertained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrán entretenidothey will have entertained

How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle entretenido.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Entretener in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

The Indicative Conditional Perfect of entretener is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría entretenido”, meaning “I would have entertained”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabría entretenidoI would have entertained
Túhabrías entretenidoyou would have entertained
Ella / Él / Ustedhabría entretenidos/he would have entertained
Nosotras / Nosotroshabríamos entretenidowe would have entertained
Vosotras / Vosotroshabríais entretenidoyou (plural) would have entertained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrían entretenidothey would have entertained

How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle entretenido.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Want entretener to come out without thinking?

Entretener follows the same pattern as tener. The app teaches that pattern step by step, then quizzes you until both come out automatically.

4.9 stars from 15,000+ ratings
Start free – no card needed

Subjunctive tenses of Entretener

Entretener 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, “entretenga”, meaning “I entertain”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoentretengaI entertain
Túentretengasyou entertain
Ella / Él / Ustedentretengas/he entertains
Nosotras / Nosotrosentretengamoswe entertain
Vosotras / Vosotrosentretengáisyou (plural) entertain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesentretenganthey entertain

How it’s built: Every form follows the yo present, entretengo (entretenga, entretengas, entretenga, entretengamos, entretengáis, entretengan).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Entretener 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, “entretuviera”, meaning “I entertained”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoentretuvieraI entertained
Túentretuvierasyou entertained
Ella / Él / Ustedentretuvieras/he entertained
Nosotras / Nosotrosentretuviéramoswe entertained
Vosotras / Vosotrosentretuvieraisyou (plural) entertained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesentretuvieranthey entertained

How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, entretuvieron: drop -ron and add the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (entretuviéramos).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Entretener 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, “entretuviere”, meaning “I will entertain”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoentretuviereI will entertain
Túentretuvieresyou will entertain
Ella / Él / Ustedentretuvieres/he will entertain
Nosotras / Nosotrosentretuviéremoswe will entertain
Vosotras / Vosotrosentretuviereisyou (plural) will entertain
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesentretuvierenthey will entertain

How it’s built: Built on the irregular ellas/ellos preterite, entretuvieron: drop -ron and add the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (entretuviéremos).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Entretener 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 entretenido”, meaning “I have entertained”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohaya entretenidoI have entertained
Túhayas entretenidoyou have entertained
Ella / Él / Ustedhaya entretenidos/he has entertained
Nosotras / Nosotroshayamos entretenidowe have entertained
Vosotras / Vosotroshayáis entretenidoyou (plural) have entertained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshayan entretenidothey have entertained

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle entretenido.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Entretener 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 entretenido”, meaning “I had entertained”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiera entretenidoI had entertained
Túhubieras entretenidoyou had entertained
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiera entretenidos/he had entertained
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéramos entretenidowe had entertained
Vosotras / Vosotroshubierais entretenidoyou (plural) had entertained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieran entretenidothey had entertained

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle entretenido.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Entretener 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 entretenido”, meaning “I will have entertained”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiere entretenidoI will have entertained
Túhubieres entretenidoyou will have entertained
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiere entretenidos/he will have entertained
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéremos entretenidowe will have entertained
Vosotras / Vosotroshubiereis entretenidoyou (plural) will have entertained
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieren entretenidothey will have entertained

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle entretenido.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Imperative tenses of Entretener

Entretener in the Imperative Affirmative

The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “entretenga”, meaning “(to you formal) entertain!”.

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túentretén(to you) entertain!
Ella / Él / Ustedentretenga(to you formal) entertain!
Nosotras / Nosotrosentretengamoslet's entertain!
Vosotras / Vosotrosentretened(to you plural) entertain!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesentretengan(to you plural formal) entertain!

How it’s built: Tú is irregular (entretén); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (entretenga, entretengamos, entretengan); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (entretened).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Entretener in the Imperative Negative

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

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

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túno entretengas(to you) don't entertain!
Ella / Él / Ustedno entretenga(to you formal) don't entertain!
Nosotras / Nosotrosno entretengamoslet's not entertain!
Vosotras / Vosotrosno entretengáis(to you plural) don't entertain!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesno entretengan(to you plural formal) don't entertain!

How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no entretengas, no entretenga, no entretengamos, no entretengáis, no entretengan.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

Or use our app:


Back to top

Frequently asked questions about Entretener

Is entretener a regular or irregular verb?

Entretener is an irregular Spanish verb. It is conjugated like tener. In the present tense: yo adds a g (entretengo); tú, ella/él and ellas/ellos change e to ie (entretienes, entretiene, entretienen); nosotros and vosotros are regular. It is also irregular in the preterite (entretuve), future (entretendré), conditional (entretendría) and subjunctive.

How do you conjugate entretener in the present tense (presente)?

In the present tense (presente), entretener is conjugated as: yo entretengo, tú entretienes, él/ella/usted entretiene, nosotros entretenemos, vosotros entretenéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes entretienen. The present tense 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.

How do you conjugate entretener in the preterite (pretérito indefinido)?

In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), entretener is conjugated as: yo entretuve, tú entretuviste, él/ella/usted entretuvo, nosotros entretuvimos, vosotros entretuvisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes entretuvieron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.

How do you conjugate entretener in the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto)?

In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), entretener is conjugated as: yo entretenía, tú entretenías, él/ella/usted entretenía, nosotros entreteníamos, vosotros entreteníais, ellos/ellas/ustedes entretenían. The imperfect is used To describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do.

How do you conjugate entretener in the future tense (futuro simple)?

In the future tense (futuro simple), entretener is conjugated as: yo entretendré, tú entretendrás, él/ella/usted entretendrá, nosotros entretendremos, vosotros entretendréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes entretendrán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.

How do you conjugate entretener in the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente)?

In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), entretener is conjugated as: yo entretenga, tú entretengas, él/ella/usted entretenga, nosotros entretengamos, vosotros entretengáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes entretengan. The present subjunctive 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.

What’s the difference between entretener and entretenerse?

Entretener means ‘to entertain’ and entretenerse means ‘to entertain (oneself), to have fun’. Entretenerse is the reflexive form of entretener, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun – me, te, se, nos, os or se – that matches the subject. The verb itself is conjugated the same way: in the present tense, yo entretengo becomes me entretengo. In the affirmative tú imperative the pronoun attaches to the end of the verb, so entretén becomes entretente.


Back to top

Downloadable cheat sheets

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

Download image
entretener conjugation in Spanish
Back to top

Practise Entretener conjugations (free mobile & web app)

Get full conjugation tables for Entretener and 2,500+ other verbs on-the-go with Ella Verbs for iOS, Android, and web.

We also guide you through learning all Spanish tenses and test your knowledge with conjugation quizzes. Download it for free!

verb-library.png conjugation-empezar-1.png
4.9 stars from 15,000+ ratings

Back to top

About Ella Verbs

👋 Hola! We built Ella Verbs to help people (and ourselves!) master one of the hardest parts of Spanish – verb conjugation. It guides you through learning all tenses in an easy-to-follow way, giving you levels of bite-sized lessons and fun quizzes. Here is a 6 minute overview of all of the app’s features:

It has changed a lot over the 9+ years we have been working on it, but the goal remains the same – to help you master Spanish conjugation! You can download and try it for free, and, if you do, please send any and all feedback our way!

– Jane & Brian

4.9 stars from 15,000+ ratings

Back to top

Want to explore other verb conjugations?

Why not check out Entretenerse – to entertain (oneself), to have fun or see the complete list of verbs here.


Back to top
Logo

Download for free now

Join 250,000+ others and master your Spanish conjugation with the top-rated verb app, Ella Verbs

4.9 stars from 15,000+ ratings

Great program that has and is helping me immensely. Four years [studying Spanish] and after just a couple of days with this app I finally am 'getting' the verb thing into my head. After the first couple of lessons I finally feel comfortable conversing with the natives here in Panama. I still have a long way to go but this application was the key for me. Thank you!

Google Play Store