contenía

contenía is the imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb contener, used to express ongoing or habitual actions in the past or to describe a state of containment. In this conjugation, the form contenía can function as either first person singular (yo contenía) or third person singular (él, ella, usted contenía); the surrounding context usually indicates the subject.

Etymology and meaning: contener comes from Latin continēre, formed by con- “together, with” and tenēre “to hold.” The meaning encompasses physical containment, capacity, as well as abstract or figurative sense of something that includes or holds within boundaries, limits, or content.

Usage: contenía describes what a container or system held at a past time, or what was true about a situation over a period. It can refer to physical contents (La caja contenía manzanas) or to figurative content (El discurso contenía varios argumentos). It is distinct from the present tense contener (to contain) and from other past tenses such as the preterite, which may indicate a completed action rather than a continuing state in the past.

Differences and related forms: contenía is complemented by other imperfect forms for different subjects (contenía, contenías, contenían) and is contrasted with present subjunctive contenga or future contenér, among others. It should not be confused with contenga (present subjunctive) or with contener in other tenses that carry different aspectual nuances.

Examples:

- La caja contenía cinco libros. (The box contained five books.)

- En aquella época, su colección contenía muchos objetos valiosos.

See also: contener, continencia, contenido.