English irregular verbs, past tense of Hold: Hold - Held - Held

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Hold is a very familiar vocabulary term in English. However, how is the verb Hold conjugated in the present, past, and past participle? Let's explore the concept, idioms, phrasal verbs, and the past tense of Hold together with PREP!

I. What is Hold?
II. What are the V0, V2, V3 forms of Hold? The past tense of Hold in English
III. Conjugation of the verb Hold
1. 1. In the tenses
2. 2. In special sentence structures
IV. Phrasal verbs with Hold in English
V. Idioms with Hold in English
VI. Exercises on the past tense of Hold with answers
1. 1. Exercise: Conjugate the verb Hold in the following sentences:
2. 2. Answer key

I. What is Hold?

Before we explore the past tense of Hold in English, let's understand the meaning and usage of Hold with PREP.

Hold is pronounced as /hoʊld/, serves as a verb, and means:

Meaning	Example
Keep, grasp, carry, lift (v)	Jennie holds the baby carefully in her arms.
Arrange, conduct, host (v)	They will hold a meeting next week.
Maintain, occupy, retain (v)	Bella holds the position of CEO at the company.
Wait on the line (v)	Please hold while I transfer your call.
Contain, accommodate (v)	This bottle holds one liter of water.
Restrain, prevent, detain (v)	The dam holds the water from flooding the village.
Grip, possession, control (n)	Xavia has a strong hold on the situation.

II. What are the V0, V2, V3 forms of Hold? The past tense of Hold in English

What is the past tense of Hold? V0, V2, V3 are abbreviations for the base form, simple past, and past participle. Held past tense of Hold as well as the past participle of Hold.

Verb form		Example
V0	Hold /hoʊld/	I hold the door for Jane.
V2	Held /held/	I held the door for Jane yesterday.
V3	Held /held/	I have held the door for Jane for 30 minutes.

Hold past tense and past participle are: Hold past simple is Held and Hold past participle is Held. Therefore, past perfect of Hold is Had Held.

III. Conjugation of the verb Hold

How is the verb Hold conjugated in the 12 tenses of English and other special structures? Let's explore it together with PREP right below!

1. In the tenses

12 tenses in English	I	He/She/It	We/You/They
Present simple tense	hold	holds	hold
	I hold the door open for you. He holds the trophy proudly. They hold meetings every Monday.
Present progressive tense	am holding	is holding	are holding
	I am holding a book in my hand. He is holding his breath underwater. They are holding a fundraiser for charity.
Present perfect tense	have held	has held	have held
	I have held this position for three years. He has held several leadership roles in the company. They have held the record for the longest time.
Present perfect progressive tense	have been holding	has been holding	have been holding
	I have been holding onto this dream for a long time. He has been holding the door for everyone since it started raining. They have been holding discussions about the new project
Past simple tense	held	held	held
	I held the baby for the first time yesterday. He held the meeting last week. They held a party for their friend's birthday.
Past progressive tense	was holding	was holding	were holding
	I was holding a cup of coffee when you called. He was holding the ladder while she fell off the wall. They were holding hands while walking in the park.
Past perfect tense	had held	had held	had held
	I had held onto my wallet tightly before realizing it was missing. He had held the title for many years before retiring. They had held several successful events before the pandemic.
Past perfect progressive tense	had been holding	had been holding	had been holding
	I had been holding the flag during the parade for hours. He had been holding the position for a year before his promotion. They had been holding workshops regularly until the lockdown.
Future simple tense	will hold	will hold	will hold
	I will hold a meeting next week. He will hold the door open for you. They will hold a concert in the park.
Future progressive tense	will be holding	will be holding	will be holding
	I will be holding a presentation at the conference tomorrow morning. He will be holding a training session tomorrow. They will be holding their annual meeting next month.
Future perfect tense	will have held	will have held	will have held
	I will have held the position for five years by next month. He will have held the trophy for a year by the end of the season. They will have held numerous events by the end of the year.
Future perfect progressive tense	will have been holding	will have been holding	will have been holding
	I will have been holding this position for ten years by next year. He will have been holding the event annually for over a decade. They will have been holding discussions for several weeks by then.

2. In special sentence structures

Special Structure	I	He/She/It	We/You/They
Conditional Sentences
Second conditional - Main Clause	would hold	would hold	would hold
Second conditional - Main Clause	I would hold the door open if you were running late. She would hold a meeting if she had the time. We would hold a celebration if we won the match.
Third conditional - Main Clause	would have held	would have held	would have held
Third conditional - Main Clause	I would have held the baby if I had been there. She would have held the trophy if she had won the competition. We would have held the event at the park if it hadn't rained.
Subjunctive
Subjunctive expressing present situation	hold	hold	hold
Subjunctive expressing present situation contrary to fact	held	held	held
Subjunctive expressing past situation contrary to fact	had held	had held	had held
Example	If I hold this position, I can make a difference. If she held a concert, it would be a huge success. If we had held the meeting last week, we would have finished the project on time.

IV. Phrasal verbs with Hold in English

In addition to the knowledge about the past form of Hold mentioned above, let's take note of the list of phrasal verbs with Hold in English right below with PREP!

Phrasal Verbs with Hold	Meaning	Example
Hold on	To remain on the line during a telephone call; to keep in contact	Lisa told John to hold on while she checked the schedule.
Hold back	To restrain; to not reveal emotions or actions	David held back his tears during the sad movie.
Hold up	To impede or delay; to support or lift something	The traffic accident held up Mark's arrival at the meeting.
Hold out	To assist someone; to prevent someone from falling	Emily held out her hand to help her friend up.
Hold together	To keep things unified and logical; to maintain cohesion among group members	During the crisis, Sarah tried to hold the team together.

V. Idioms with Hold in English

In addition to the knowledge about Hold past form mentioned above, let's take note of the list of idioms with Hold in English right below with PREP!

Idioms with Hold	Meaning	Example
Hold your horses	To wait a moment; to be patient and not rush	Sarah told her brother to hold his horses before making a decision.
Hold the fort	To maintain or protect a place or situation while others are absent	While the manager was away, John held the fort at the office.
Hold your tongue	To remain silent and not speak, especially when doing so could cause problems	During the meeting, Emily decided to hold her tongue about her concerns.
Hold one's breath	To wait in a state of excitement or anxiety	As the results were announced, the students held their breath in anticipation.
Hold back the tears	To restrain emotions and not let tears fall	During the emotional speech, Laura struggled to hold back the tears.

VI. Exercises on the past tense of Hold with answers

To better understand the past tense of Hold and the phrasal verbs associated with Hold in English, let's complete the exercise below with PREP!

1. Exercise: Conjugate the verb Hold in the following sentences:

Yesterday, Lisa ___ (hold) the baby for the first time.
Right now, they ___ (hold) a meeting in the conference room.
Richard usually ___ (hold) the door open for others.
We ___ (hold) the ceremony last weekend.
By next month, I ___ (hold) my first art exhibition.
If it rains tomorrow, I ___ (hold) the event indoors.
I ___ (hold) a grudge against him for years.
Anna ___ (hold) her breath while diving underwater.
We ___ (hold) a family reunion every summer.
Kelvin has ___ (hold) many important positions in the company.

2. Answer key

held
are holding
holds
held
will have held

will hold
have held
held
hold
held

In this article, PREP has introduced you to the concepts, idioms, phrasal verbs, and the past tense of Hold. Stay tuned to PREP for more useful English knowledge!

Master Tu Pham

Founder/CEO at Prep

Founder of Prep Smart Test Preparation Platform. With over 10 years of experience in teaching and test preparation, Mr. Tú has helped thousands of students achieve high scores in the IELTS exam. In addition, Mr. Tú Phạm is also a consulting expert in British Council programs and a speaker at many leading educational events, programs, and conferences.