French reference
retenir
to hold back; to remember; to retain; to reserve; to withhold
Irregular · 19 form tables
Includes indicative, conditional, subjunctive and imperative forms. Literary categories and supplied participle agreement forms are labeled separately.
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Indicative
Present
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I hold back |
| tu | you hold back |
| il/elle/on | he/she holds back |
| nous | we hold back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) hold back |
| ils/elles | they hold back |
Compound past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I held back; I have held back |
| tu | you held back; you have held back |
| il/elle/on | he/she held back; he/she has held back |
| nous | we held back; we have held back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) held back; you (plural/formal) have held back |
| ils/elles | they held back; they have held back |
Imperfect
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I used to hold back |
| tu | you used to hold back |
| il/elle/on | he/she used to hold back |
| nous | we used to hold back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) used to hold back |
| ils/elles | they used to hold back |
Pluperfect
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I had held back |
| tu | you had held back |
| il/elle/on | he/she had held back |
| nous | we had held back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) had held back |
| ils/elles | they had held back |
Future
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I will hold back |
| tu | you will hold back |
| il/elle/on | he/she will hold back |
| nous | we will hold back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) will hold back |
| ils/elles | they will hold back |
Future perfect
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I will have held back |
| tu | you will have held back |
| il/elle/on | he/she will have held back |
| nous | we will have held back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) will have held back |
| ils/elles | they will have held back |
Near future
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I am going to hold back |
| tu | you are going to hold back |
| il/elle/on | he/she is going to hold back |
| nous | we are going to hold back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) are going to hold back |
| ils/elles | they are going to hold back |
Recent past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I have just held back |
| tu | you have just held back |
| il/elle/on | he/she has just held back |
| nous | we have just held back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) have just held back |
| ils/elles | they have just held back |
Simple past (literary)
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I held back |
| tu | you held back |
| il/elle/on | he/she held back |
| nous | we held back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) held back |
| ils/elles | they held back |
Past anterior (literary)
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I had held back |
| tu | you had held back |
| il/elle/on | he/she had held back |
| nous | we had held back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) had held back |
| ils/elles | they had held back |
Conditional
Conditional
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I would hold back |
| tu | you would hold back |
| il/elle/on | he/she would hold back |
| nous | we would hold back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) would hold back |
| ils/elles | they would hold back |
Past conditional
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I would have held back |
| tu | you would have held back |
| il/elle/on | he/she would have held back |
| nous | we would have held back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) would have held back |
| ils/elles | they would have held back |
Past conditional, second form (literary)
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I would have held back |
| tu | you would have held back |
| il/elle/on | he/she would have held back |
| nous | we would have held back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) would have held back |
| ils/elles | they would have held back |
Subjunctive
Present subjunctive
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | (that) I hold back |
| tu | (that) you hold back |
| il/elle/on | (that) he/she holds back |
| nous | (that) we hold back |
| vous | (that) you (plural/formal) hold back |
| ils/elles | (that) they hold back |
Past subjunctive
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | (that) I have held back |
| tu | (that) you have held back |
| il/elle/on | (that) he/she has held back |
| nous | (that) we have held back |
| vous | (that) you (plural/formal) have held back |
| ils/elles | (that) they have held back |
Imperfect subjunctive (literary)
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | (that) I held back |
| tu | (that) you held back |
| il/elle/on | (that) he/she held back |
| nous | (that) we held back |
| vous | (that) you (plural/formal) held back |
| ils/elles | (that) they held back |
Pluperfect subjunctive (literary)
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | (that) I had held back |
| tu | (that) you had held back |
| il/elle/on | (that) he/she had held back |
| nous | (that) we had held back |
| vous | (that) you (plural/formal) had held back |
| ils/elles | (that) they had held back |
Imperative
Imperative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| tu | hold back! |
| nous | let's hold back! |
| vous | hold back! (plural/formal) |
Past imperative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| tu | have held back by then! |
| nous | let's have held back by then! |
| vous | have held back by then! (plural/formal) |
Additional forms
- Gerund
- Present participle
- Past participle
- / / /
- Past infinitive
- Perfect participle
Forms from the Loquus reference. Only supplied forms are shown. Browse all French entries.