mantenendo

Mantenendo is the present participle, or gerundio presente, of the Italian verb mantenere, which means to maintain, keep, uphold, or preserve. As a gerund, mantenendo expresses an ongoing action or describes the manner of an action and can be used with auxiliary verbs to form a progressive aspect or as a gerundial clause in its own right. Like other Italian gerunds, it is invariable for gender and number.

Usage examples illustrate its function. With a form of stare, it signals ongoing activity: “Sto mantenendo la promessa” (I am keeping the promise). It can also introduce a concomitant action: “Mantenendo la calma, ha gestito la situazione” (By keeping calm, he managed the situation). In narrative or descriptive prose, it may appear in subordinate clauses: “Mantenendo una distanza, hanno osservato l’evento.” The gerund can appear in various registers, from everyday speech to formal writing.

Etymology and morphology: mantenendo is built from the stem manten- plus the -endo suffix that marks the present gerund in Italian. The word derives from mantenere, a Latin-derived verb in the Romance language family. In contemporary Italian, mantenendo is commonly used to convey continuity, manner, or simultaneous actions without requiring a finite verb for each clause.