maintenaient

Maintenaient is the imperfect tense form of the French verb maintenir, used with the subject ils/elles (they). It translates to “they were maintaining” or “they kept,” and it describes ongoing actions or states in the past, as well as habitual past actions, rather than a single completed event.

Etymology and classification: Maintenir comes from Old French maintenir, which in turn derives from Latin manutenere (manu + tenere, literally “to hold in the hand” or “to keep”). In French, it belongs to the group of -enir verbs related to tenir, and its imperfect forms follow the regular imparfait endings with the stem mainten-.

Conjugation notes: In the imperfect (imparfait), the stem is mainten- plus the standard endings: je maintenais, tu maintenais, il/elle/on maintenait, nous maintenions, vous mainteniez, ils/elles maintenaient. The past participle is tenu, used with auxiliary avoir in compound tenses (par exemple, avoir tenu). The passé composé with ils is ils ont tenu; the plus-que-parfait is ils avaient tenu.

Usage considerations: The form maintenaient emphasizes continuity or repetition in the past. It can describe maintaining a physical state (keeping the door closed), a position or policy (maintaining order, maintaining a course), or a habitual action over a period. Context usually clarifies whether the sense is durational, habitual, or progressive.

Examples: Ils maintenaient le cap malgré les tempêtes. Ils maintenaient la porte fermée pendant l’événement.