Meaning
to stretch, to hold out, to tend (to)
- to tighten
- to stretch
- to crane (the neck)
- to tend
In a sentence
Tendo sempre il filo prima di tagliarlo.
I always tighten the thread before cutting it.
Hai teso bene il braccio per prendere tutto?
Did you stretch your arm well to reach everything?
Non tendere il collo, ti faccio vedere io.
Don't crane your neck, I'll show you.
Word forms (48)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| tendere | infinitive |
| tendiamo | indicative · present · plural · 1st person |
| tendo | indicative · present · singular · 1st person |
| tendete | indicative · present · plural · 2nd person |
| tendi | indicative · present · singular · 2nd person |
| tendono | indicative · present · plural · 3rd person |
| tende | indicative · present · singular · 3rd person |
| tendevamo | indicative · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| tendevo | indicative · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| tendevate | indicative · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| tendevi | indicative · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| tendevano | indicative · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| tendeva | indicative · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| tendemmo | indicative · past · plural · 1st person |
| tesi | indicative · past · singular · 1st person |
| tendeste | indicative · past · plural · 2nd person |
| tendesti | indicative · past · singular · 2nd person |
| tesero | indicative · past · plural · 3rd person |
| tese | indicative · past · singular · 3rd person |
| tenderemo | indicative · future · plural · 1st person |
| tenderò | indicative · future · singular · 1st person |
| tenderete | indicative · future · plural · 2nd person |
| tenderai | indicative · future · singular · 2nd person |
| tenderanno | indicative · future · plural · 3rd person |
| tenderà | indicative · future · singular · 3rd person |
| tendiamo | subjunctive · present · plural · 1st person |
| tenda | subjunctive · present · singular · 1st person |
| tendiate | subjunctive · present · plural · 2nd person |
| tenda | subjunctive · present · singular · 2nd person |
| tendano | subjunctive · present · plural · 3rd person |
| tenda | subjunctive · present · singular · 3rd person |
| tendessimo | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| tendessi | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| tendeste | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| tendessi | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| tendessero | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| tendesse | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| tenderemmo | conditional · present · plural · 1st person |
| tenderei | conditional · present · singular · 1st person |
| tendereste | conditional · present · plural · 2nd person |
| tenderesti | conditional · present · singular · 2nd person |
| tenderebbero | conditional · present · plural · 3rd person |
| tenderebbe | conditional · present · singular · 3rd person |
| tendiamo | imperative · plural · 1st person |
| tendete | imperative · plural · 2nd person |
| tendi | imperative · singular · 2nd person |
| tendendo | gerund |
| teso | past · participle |
Usage notes
- Very often used as tendere a + infinitive: means “to tend to, be inclined to,” not physical stretching.
- For “to wait on/serve” a person, use servire, not tendere. Tendere rarely means “attend to” in modern everyday Italian.
- Intransitive tendere usually takes avere in compound tenses: ha teso a esagerare.
- past participle teso