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Conjugation of the French verb retenir

A list of the common conjugations for the French verb retenir, along with their English translations.

retenir is an irregular verb

Verb phrases

Infinitive		Scored
retenir	to withhold

Present		Scored
je retiens	I withhold
tu retiens	you withhold
il retient	he withholds
elle retient	she withholds
nous retenons	we withhold
vous retenez	you withhold
ils retiennent	they withhold
elles retiennent	they withhold

Imperfect		Scored
je retenais	I was withholding
tu retenais	you were withholding
il retenait	he was withholding
elle retenait	she was withholding
nous retenions	we were withholding
vous reteniez	you were withholding
ils retenaient	they were withholding
elles retenaient	they were withholding

Past Historic / Passé Simple This is a literary tense, i.e. a tense used in writing, in everyday speech the Passé Composé is used to refer to past actions.		Scored
je retins	I withheld
tu retins	you withheld
il retint	he withheld
elle retint	she withheld
nous retînmes	we withheld
vous retîntes	you withheld
ils retinrent	they withheld
elles retinrent	they withheld

Passé Composé		Scored
j'ai retenu	I have withheld
tu as retenu	you have withheld
il a retenu	he has withheld
elle a retenu	she has withheld
nous avons retenu	we have withheld
vous avez retenu	you have withheld
ils ont retenu	they have withheld
elles ont retenu	they have withheld

Pluperfect / Plus-que-parfait		Scored
j'avais retenu	I had withheld
tu avais retenu	you had withheld
il avait retenu	he had withheld
elle avait retenu	she had withheld
nous avions retenu	we had withheld
vous aviez retenu	you had withheld
ils avaient retenu	they had withheld
elles avaient retenu	they had withheld

Future		Scored
je retiendrai	I will withhold
tu retiendras	you will withhold
il retiendra	he will withhold
elle retiendra	she will withhold
nous retiendrons	we will withhold
vous retiendrez	you will withhold
ils retiendront	they will withhold
elles retiendront	they will withhold

Future Perfect / Futur antérieur The French Future Perfect or Futur antérieur is made with the future tense of avoir or être and the past participle of the verb. The past participle agrees with the subject for verbs that take être, or with the direct object for verbs that take avoir.		Scored
j'aurai retenu	I will have withheld
tu auras retenu	you will have withheld
il aura retenu	he will have withheld
elle aura retenu	she will have withheld
nous aurons retenu	we will have withheld
vous aurez retenu	you will have withheld
ils auront retenu	they will have withheld
elles auront retenu	they will have withheld

Conditional		Scored
je retiendrais	I would withhold
tu retiendrais	you would withhold
il retiendrait	he would withhold
elle retiendrait	she would withhold
nous retiendrions	we would withhold
vous retiendriez	you would withhold
ils retiendraient	they would withhold
elles retiendraient	they would withhold

Conditional Perfect / Conditionnel passé The French Conditional Perfect (the past conditional) or Conditionnel passé is made with the conditional tense of avoir or être and the past participle of the verb. The past participle agrees with the subject for verbs that take être, or with the direct object for verbs that take avoir.		Scored
j'aurais retenu	I would have withheld
tu aurais retenu	you would have withheld
il aurait retenu	he would have withheld
elle aurait retenu	she would have withheld
nous aurions retenu	we would have withheld
vous auriez retenu	you would have withheld
ils auraient retenu	they would have withheld
elles auraient retenu	they would have withheld

Present Subjunctive		Scored
(... que) je retienne	(... that) I withhold
(... que) tu retiennes	(... that) you withhold
(... que) il retienne	(... that) he withholds
(... que) elle retienne	(... that) she withholds
(... que) nous retenions	(... that) we withhold
(... que) vous reteniez	(... that) you withhold
(... que) ils retiennent	(... that) they withhold
(... que) elles retiennent	(... that) they withhold

Imperfect Subjunctive		Scored
(... que) je retinsse	(... that) I was withholding
(... que) tu retinsses	(... that) you were withholding
(... que) il retînt	(... that) he was withholding
(... que) elle retînt	(... that) she was withholding
(... que) nous retinssions	(... that) we were withholding
(... que) vous retinssiez	(... that) you were withholding
(... que) ils retinssent	(... that) they were withholding
(... que) elles retinssent	(... that) they were withholding

Imperative		Scored
retiens	Withhold
retenons	Let's withhold
retenez	Withhold

Present Participle		Scored
retenant	withholding

Past Participle		Scored
retenu	withheld

Regular conjugation

Irregular conjugation

Spelling change

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