Yap.Town

io tenessi

held, kept, cared about

→ tenere
ten to keep, to hold + essi 1st/2nd person singular imperfect subjunctive
verb · 1st-person singular / 2nd-person singular, imperfect tense Rare #42,873
held, kept In a subordinate clause, this form often refers to a hypothetical or desired action.
IT: Vorrei che tenessi la finestra aperta.
EN: I’d like you to keep the window open.
cared about Used with a; for example, tenessi a qualcosa means “cared about something.”
IT: Se tenessi davvero a lui, lo chiameresti.
EN: If you really cared about him, you’d call him.
Conjugation of tenere
Subjunctive imperfect
SingularPlural
First tenessi —
Second tenessi —
Third tenesse —

Mi piacerebbe che tenessi questo.

I'd like you to keep this.

— Manon delle sorgenti (1986)

Volevi che la tenessi qui, la sto tenendo qui.

You wanted me to keep it here, I'm keeping it here.

— Anora (2024)

Se ci tenessi, mi avresti chiamata.

If you cared, you would have called me.

— Thunderbolts* (2025)

Voleva che lo tenessi per lei.

She wanted me to keep it for her.