Meaning
to contain
- to restrain, to curb, to keep in check
In a sentence
Questa scatola contiene ancora le foto di scuola.
This box still contains the school photos.
Il file non contiene il tuo nome.
The file doesn't contain your name.
Hai controllato se la mail conteneva l'indirizzo?
Did you check whether the email contained the address?
Word forms (48)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| contenere | infinitive |
| conteniamo | indicative · present · plural · 1st person |
| contengo | indicative · present · singular · 1st person |
| contenete | indicative · present · plural · 2nd person |
| contieni | indicative · present · singular · 2nd person |
| contengono | indicative · present · plural · 3rd person |
| contiene | indicative · present · singular · 3rd person |
| contenevamo | indicative · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| contenevo | indicative · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| contenevate | indicative · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| contenevi | indicative · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| contenevano | indicative · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| conteneva | indicative · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| contenemmo | indicative · past · plural · 1st person |
| contenni | indicative · past · singular · 1st person |
| conteneste | indicative · past · plural · 2nd person |
| contenesti | indicative · past · singular · 2nd person |
| contennero | indicative · past · plural · 3rd person |
| contenne | indicative · past · singular · 3rd person |
| conterremo | indicative · future · plural · 1st person |
| conterrò | indicative · future · singular · 1st person |
| conterrete | indicative · future · plural · 2nd person |
| conterrai | indicative · future · singular · 2nd person |
| conterranno | indicative · future · plural · 3rd person |
| conterrà | indicative · future · singular · 3rd person |
| conteniamo | subjunctive · present · plural · 1st person |
| contenga | subjunctive · present · singular · 1st person |
| conteniate | subjunctive · present · plural · 2nd person |
| contenga | subjunctive · present · singular · 2nd person |
| contengano | subjunctive · present · plural · 3rd person |
| contenga | subjunctive · present · singular · 3rd person |
| contenessimo | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| contenessi | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| conteneste | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| contenessi | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| contenessero | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| contenesse | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| conterremmo | conditional · present · plural · 1st person |
| conterrei | conditional · present · singular · 1st person |
| conterreste | conditional · present · plural · 2nd person |
| conterresti | conditional · present · singular · 2nd person |
| conterrebbero | conditional · present · plural · 3rd person |
| conterrebbe | conditional · present · singular · 3rd person |
| conteniamo | imperative · plural · 1st person |
| contenete | imperative · plural · 2nd person |
| contieni | imperative · singular · 2nd person |
| contenendo | gerund |
| contenuto | past · participle |
Usage notes
- Use 'contenere' for physical containment (e.g., a box contains items). For abstract ideas, prefer 'comprendere' or 'includere'.
- Common mistake: Forgetting it’s transitive—always needs a direct object. Wrong: 'La scatola contiene.' Right: 'La scatola contiene libri.'
- Auxiliary verb is 'avere' in compound tenses (e.g., 'ha contenuto'). No agreement with the subject.
- present: contengo, contieni, contiene, conteniamo, contenete, contengono