Manteniamo

Manteniamo is the present indicative first-person plural form of the Italian verb mantenere, meaning we maintain or we keep. Mantenere is a transitive verb used to describe keeping something in a certain state, preserving, or continuing an action or condition. Manteniamo appears in everyday speech and writing to express ongoing maintenance, both literal and figurative.

Usage: Manteniamo governs a direct object. It can refer to physical upkeep (manteniamo l’edificio, we maintain the building), preservation of conditions (manteniamo l’ordine, we keep order), fulfillment of commitments (manteniamo la promessa, we keep the promise), or relationships and standards (manteniamo buone relazioni, we maintain good relations). It is also used with abstract nouns such as calma: Manteniamo la calma.

Grammatical notes: Manteniamo follows the standard conjugation pattern of the -ere verbs in the present indicative. The present forms of mantenere are io mantengo, tu mantieni, lui mantiene, noi manteniamo, voi mantenete, loro mantengono. The “noi” form shows the characteristic -niamo ending. In Italian, subject pronouns are often omitted: Manteniamo l’ordine con chiarezza. Manteniamo è una forma verbale, non un sostantivo.

Etymology and related forms: The verb mantenere derives from a Latin ancestry and forms a family with related terms such as mantenimento (maintenance), mantenitore (maintainer), and mantenere is the base verb for all its conjugations.

See also: mantenere, mantenimento, mantenitore.