to hold on — English conjugation

Frequency#17493Irregular

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 on
youhold on
he/she/itholds on
wehold on
you (pl.)hold on
theyhold on

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 on
youheld on
he/she/itheld on
weheld on
you (pl.)held on
theyheld on

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 on
youare holding on
he/she/itis holding on
weare holding on
you (pl.)are holding on
theyare holding on

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 on
youwere holding on
he/she/itwas holding on
wewere holding on
you (pl.)were holding on
theywere holding on

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 on
youhave held on
he/she/ithas held on
wehave held on
you (pl.)have held on
theyhave held on

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 on
youhad held on
he/she/ithad held on
wehad held on
you (pl.)had held on
theyhad held on

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 on
youwill hold on
he/she/itwill hold on
wewill hold on
you (pl.)will hold on
theywill hold on

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 on
youwill be holding on
he/she/itwill be holding on
wewill be holding on
you (pl.)will be holding on
theywill be holding on

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 on
youwill have held on
he/she/itwill have held on
wewill have held on
you (pl.)will have held on
theywill have held on

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 on
youwould hold on
he/she/itwould hold on
wewould hold on
you (pl.)would hold on
theywould hold on