sostenere

Sostenere is an Italian verb with a variety of related meanings centered on the idea of upholding, bearing, or backing something or someone. It can refer to a physical act, such as supporting a weight or staying up a structure; to providing financial, moral, or political backing; or to maintaining a position, argument, or hypothesis. The verb also appears in phrases that express endurance or resilience, as in bearing hardship or fatigue.

Etymology and related forms: sostenere derives from Latin sustinere, formed from sub- “under” and tenere “to hold.” The word has given rise to related nouns such as sostegno (support), sostegno morale or material, and sostenibilità (sustainability), as well as adjectives like sostenibile (sustainable). The prefix and stem changes give rise to several irregular forms across tenses and moods.

Grammatical notes: sostenere is a transitive verb and is irregular in several tenses. The past participle is sostenuto, and the gerund is sostenendo. It forms diverse present, imperfect, and past forms with stem variations, which can affect agreement and auxiliary selection in compound tenses. In everyday usage, it often pairs with direct objects or complement clauses.

Common usages: it can take a direct object in concrete senses (sostenere un peso; sostenere una persona economicamente), or abstract senses (sostenere una tesi, sostenere una posizione, sostenere una critica). For clauses, it is common to say sostenere che + indicative. Reflexive sostenersi is used for self-support, and the noun sostegno frequently appears in contexts of assistance or backing.

See also: sostenibilità, sostegno, sostenibile.