Retenir Conjugation in French: Complete Tables and Usage Guide

The French verb retenir is an essential third-group verb that every French learner will encounter early on. Depending on the context, retenir translates to "to retain", "to remember", "to hold back", "to reserve", or "to restrain".

Because it belongs to the irregular 3rd group and is derived directly from tenir (to hold), its conjugation follows the exact same irregular patterns as venir, contenir, and maintenir. In this comprehensive guide, you will find complete conjugation tables, key phonetic clues, and practical examples.

1. Quick Overview of "Retenir"

  • Infinitive: Retenir
  • English meanings: To retain, to remember/memorize, to book/reserve, to hold back.
  • Grammatical group: 3rd group (irregular in -ir).
  • Auxiliary verb: Avoir (e.g., j'ai retenu). Uses être when used reflexively (se retenir).
  • Present Participle: Retenant
  • Past Participle: Retenu

    • 2. Present Indicative (Présent de l'indicatif)

The present tense displays three different stem modifications: tien- for singular pronouns, ten- for nous and vous, and tienn- for ils/elles.

Subject Pronoun French Conjugation English Translation
:--- :--- :---
Je / J' retiens I retain / I remember
Tu retiens You retain (informal)
Il / Elle / On retient He / She / One retains
Nous retenons We retain
Vous retenez You retain (formal/plural)
Ils / Elles retiennent They retain

Pronunciation tip: The forms retiens and retient sound identical (/ʁə.tjɛ̃/). For retiennent, the double n causes the vowel to open up (/ʁə.tjɛn/).

3. Past Tenses: Passé Composé & Imparfait

Passé Composé

To express completed past actions, use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle retenu.

  • J'ai retenu (I remembered / I held back)
  • Tu as retenu
  • Il / Elle / On a retenu
  • Nous avons retenu
  • Vous avez retenu
  • Ils / Elles ont retenu

Example: J'ai retenu une table pour vingt heures. (I reserved a table for 8:00 PM.)

Imparfait (Imperfect)

The imperfect is used for continuous, habitual, or background actions in the past. It uses the stem reten-:

  • Je retenais
  • Tu retenais
  • Il / Elle / On retenait
  • Nous retenions
  • Vous reteniez
  • Ils / Elles retenaient

    • 4. Future Simple and Conditional Present

Both the future and conditional stems change to the irregular base retiendr-.

Futur Simple

  • Je retiendrai (I will remember / keep)
  • Tu retiendras
  • Il / Elle / On retiendra
  • Nous retiendrons
  • Vous retiendrez
  • Ils / Elles retiendront

    • Conditionnel Présent

  • Je retiendrais (I would remember / keep)
  • Tu retiendrais
  • Il / Elle / On retiendrait
  • Nous retiendrions
  • Vous retiendriez
  • Ils / Elles retiendraient

    • 5. Subjunctive Present (Subjonctif Présent)

The subjunctive expresses doubt, desire, obligation, or necessity. Notice the spelling shift between the singular/3rd-person plural (-tienn-) and the 1st/2nd-person plural (-ten-).

  • Que je retienne
  • Que tu retiennes
  • Qu'il / elle / on retienne
  • Que nous retenions
  • Que vous reteniez
  • Qu'ils / elles retiennent

Example: Il est crucial que nous retenions cette date. (It is crucial that we keep this date in mind.)

6. Imperative (L'impératif)

Use the imperative mood to give orders, warnings, or advice.

  • Retiens ! (Remember! / Hold back! — note the final -s)
  • Retenons ! (Let's remember! / Let's retain!)
  • Retenez ! (Remember! / Hold back! — formal/plural)

    • 7. The Reflexive Form: « Se Retenir »

When made reflexive, se retenir means "to restrain oneself", "to hold back from doing something" (se retenir de + infinitive), or "to hold on to something to keep from falling" (se retenir à).

  • Je me retiens de rire. (I am holding back my laughter.)
  • Il a trébuché mais s'est retenu à la rambarde. (He tripped but caught himself on the railing.)

Note: In compound tenses, reflexive verbs always take the auxiliary être (je me suis retenu(e)).

8. Common Collocations and Idioms

  • Retenir l'attention de quelqu'un: To capture someone's attention.
  • Retenir par cœur: To memorize by heart.
  • Retenir son souffle: To hold one's breath.
  • Retenir ses coups: To pull one's punches / hold back.

Mastering retenir unlocks many other French verbs sharing the root tenir (such as soutenir, maintenir, and obtenir). Practice using it in written sentences to make the irregular stems second nature!