All about Tenir

Tenir is an irregular -IR verb and usually means "to hold" or "to keep." Tenir has a number of other meanings, including some which depend on the preposition that follows.


Tenir usually means "to hold" or "to keep":

Qu'est-ce qu'il tient à la main ?
What is he holding in his hand?

Je dois tenir les enfants par la main
I need to hold the kids' hands

Tenez les yeux fermés
Keep your eyes closed

Il faut tenir cette affiche en place
You need to hold this poster in place

Additional meanings

To have/keep under control

Vous tenez bien votre classe
You have your class under control

To run/manage (a business)

Qui tient le magasin ?
Who's running the store?

To organize (an event)

Le comité tient une séance chaque mois
The committee holds a meeting every month

To handle, be able to accept

Elle ne tient pas l'alcool (informal)
She can't hold her liquor

To keep

Je tiens toujours mes promesses
I always keep my promises

To take up, fulfill

Cette table tient trop de place
This table takes up too much room

Tenir à

Tenir à may be followed by a noun, an infinitive, or a clause. When followed by a noun, it means either "to value, care about, be attached to" or "to be due to, stem from":

Je ne tiens pas à son opinion
I don't care about his opinion

À quoi tient son succès ?
What is the secret of his success?

When followed by an infinitive or ce que + subjunctive, tenir à means "to be anxious/eager"

Je tiens à vous remercier
I'm eager to thank you

Il tient à ce que tu sois à l'aise
He's anxious for you to feel comfortable

Tenir can also be used to mean "to depend on" - most commonly with ne___ qu'à:

Cela ne tient qu'à toi de choisir
It's up to you to choose, The choice depends (only) on you

Cela ne tient pas qu'à moi
It doesn't depend on me alone

Tenir de

Tenir de means "to take after/resemble, to have to do with":

Elle tient de sa mère
She takes after her mother

Cela tient du miracle
That seems like a miracle, There's something miraculous about that

Se tenir

Reflexively, tenir means "to hold (oneself)," "to be in a position," or "to behave":

Pourquoi se tient-il la jambe ?
Why is he holding his leg?

Je me tenais par une main
I held myself (up) with one hand

Tu dois te tenir debout
You have to stand up

Nous nous tenons prêts à partir
We're prepared to leave

Elle se tient bien
She's well-behaved

Tiens-toi tranquille !
Behave yourself! Be quiet!

Se tenir can also be used intransitively with many of the meanings in the first section (to hold a meeting, to be connected, etc)


Expressions with Tenir


Conjugations

Present tense

je tiens
tu tiens
il tient
nous tenons
vous tenez
ils tiennent

All tenses