Sostenete

Sostenete is the second person plural form of the Italian verb sostenere in the present tense, and also the affirmative imperative form when addressing multiple people. In the present tense it means “you all sustain” or “you all support,” as in Voi sostenete la tesi con prove concrete. In the imperative, it can be used to issue a command or request to a group, for example, Sostenete la vostra posizione.

Etymology and structure: sostenere belongs to the second conjugation of Italian verbs ending in -ere. It derives from Latin sustinēre (to hold up, support). The form sostenete is shared by both the present indicative for voi and the affirmative imperative for voi, depending on syntactic context.

Usage: Sostenete is used in a wide range of meanings connected to support or uphold, including physical support (sostenere un peso), rhetorical or argumentative support (sostenere una tesi), and maintaining a stance or position (sostenete la vostra posizione). It is common in formal, literary, and spoken Italian, and appears in journalism, academia, and everyday conversation.

Related forms: The verb’s other present-tense forms are io sostengo, tu sostieni, lui/lei sostiene, noi sosteniamo, loro sostengono. The noun sostegno means support or backing, while sustainability-related terms such as sostenibilità share the same root. Sostenete is a typical example of how Italian marks person and mood with a single form for voi in both indicative and imperative uses.

See also: sostenere, sostegno, sostenibilità.