to hold back — English conjugation

Frequency#17485Irregular

Indicative

Present (Simple Present) Irregular

The simple present describes habitual actions, general truths, and states. It is the most basic tense in English. For most verbs, add -s or -es for the third person singular (he, she, it).

She speaks three languages.

PronounEnglish
Ihold back
youhold back
he/she/itholds back
wehold back
you (pl.)hold back
theyhold back

Past (Simple Past) Irregular

The simple past describes completed actions at a specific time in the past. Regular verbs add -ed. There are around 200 common irregular verbs with unique past forms that must be learned individually.

She spoke to the manager yesterday.

PronounEnglish
Iheld back
youheld back
he/she/itheld back
weheld back
you (pl.)held back
theyheld back

Present continuous (Present Continuous) Irregular

The present continuous describes actions happening right now or temporary situations. Formed with am/is/are + verb-ing. Also used for definite future arrangements.

She is speaking to a client at the moment.

PronounEnglish
Iam holding back
youare holding back
he/she/itis holding back
weare holding back
you (pl.)are holding back
theyare holding back

Past continuous (Past Continuous) Irregular

The past continuous describes actions that were in progress at a specific moment in the past, often interrupted by another event. Formed with was/were + verb-ing.

She was speaking when the fire alarm went off.

PronounEnglish
Iwas holding back
youwere holding back
he/she/itwas holding back
wewere holding back
you (pl.)were holding back
theywere holding back

Present perfect (Present Perfect) Irregular

The present perfect connects the past to the present. It describes experiences, recent events, or situations that started in the past and continue now. Formed with have/has + past participle.

She has spoken at over fifty conferences.

PronounEnglish
Ihave held back
youhave held back
he/she/ithas held back
wehave held back
you (pl.)have held back
theyhave held back

Past perfect (Past Perfect) Irregular

The past perfect describes an action completed before another past event — the past of the past. Formed with had + past participle. Always implies a reference point in the past.

She had spoken to him before the meeting started.

PronounEnglish
Ihad held back
youhad held back
he/she/ithad held back
wehad held back
you (pl.)had held back
theyhad held back

Future (will) (Future Simple) Irregular

The future simple expresses predictions, spontaneous decisions, and promises. Formed with will + base infinitive. The contracted form will not = won't is very common in spoken English.

She will speak at the conference tomorrow.

PronounEnglish
Iwill hold back
youwill hold back
he/she/itwill hold back
wewill hold back
you (pl.)will hold back
theywill hold back

Future continuous (Future Continuous) Irregular

The future continuous describes an action that will be in progress at a specific future moment. Formed with will be + verb-ing. Often used to describe planned or expected ongoing actions.

This time tomorrow she will be speaking to the board.

PronounEnglish
Iwill be holding back
youwill be holding back
he/she/itwill be holding back
wewill be holding back
you (pl.)will be holding back
theywill be holding back

Future perfect (Future Perfect) Irregular

The future perfect describes an action that will be completed before a specific point in the future. Formed with will have + past participle. Common with time expressions like by then, by the time.

By Friday she will have spoken to all the clients.

PronounEnglish
Iwill have held back
youwill have held back
he/she/itwill have held back
wewill have held back
you (pl.)will have held back
theywill have held back

Subjunctive

Conditional (would) (Conditional) Irregular

The conditional describes hypothetical situations and their results. Formed with would + base infinitive. Used in if-clauses, polite requests, and reported speech about future events.

She would speak more if she had the chance.

PronounEnglish
Iwould hold back
youwould hold back
he/she/itwould hold back
wewould hold back
you (pl.)would hold back
theywould hold back