držati (to hold/keep)

Držati ("to hold, to keep") is a verb every learner gets wrong at first — not because of its meanings, which map neatly onto English "hold" and "keep", but because of its conjugation. The infinitive ends in -ati, which screams "a-class verb" (like čitati → čitam). But držati is a sneaky i-class verb: its present is držim, držiš, drži… — never *držam. A whole little family behaves this way (bojati se → bojim se, stajati → stojim, držati → držim), and you simply have to learn that the -ati ending lies about the present. Once that's settled, držati repays the effort: it covers physical holding, keeping things in a state or place, fixed idioms like držati govor ("give a speech"), an opinion sense (držati do — "to value"), and a rich reflexive držati se ("to hold on / behave / keep to the rules").

Conjugation class — the headline

Držati is imperfective on its own (the activity of holding/keeping has no natural endpoint). When you need a perfective for a specific sense, Croatian uses a prefixed verb: zadržati ("to retain, to hold back, to keep") and održati ("to hold an event; to keep a promise"). These are not interchangeable — pick the prefix that matches the sense (see the government section).

Present tense

Because držati is imperfective, its present is a real present: držim genuinely means "I am holding / I hold (right now)".

The l-participle

Regular, built on the infinitive stem drža-: držao / držala.

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + l-participle. As an imperfective, držati in the perfect describes holding/keeping as a state or process; for a bounded event use zadržao sam or održao sam.

Future I (futur prvi)

The infinitive drops its -i before the clitic: držat ću. Separate word — never držati ću.

Imperative

Built on the present stem: drži, držimo, držite. The single-word Drži! is also a fixed encouragement, "Hang in there!".

Conditional I (kondicional prvi)

bih-clitics + l-participle.

Other forms

• Passive participle: držan ("held / kept"), from the drža- stem with -n (no jotation). More common are the prefixed perfectives' participles: zadržan ("retained / held back / detained"), održan ("held [of an event] / kept [of a promise]"). Sastanak je održan ("The meeting was held"); Bio je zadržan na poslu ("He was held up at work").
• Verbal adverb: držeći ("[while] holding"), built on the present stem — common in writing: držeći dijete u naručju ("holding the child in her arms").

Key uses and government

1. držati + accusative — to hold / to keep

The core sense takes a direct object in the accusative: what you hold in your hands, or what you keep somewhere or in some condition. See the accusative direct object. The "keep" sense often adds a place phrase (držati nešto u hladnjaku) or a resultant adjective (držati vrata otvorenima — "keep the door open").

2. The idiom držati govor — to give a speech

In several fixed collocations držati is the verb of "delivering / conducting": držati govor ("give a speech"), držati predavanje ("give a lecture"), držati lekciju (literally "give a lesson", often figurative: "lecture someone"). For a completed, scheduled one, the perfective is održati (održati govor — "deliver the speech"). For why a particular verb demands a particular complement, see verb government.

3. The opinion sense — držati do / "consider"

Držati also means "to hold a view / consider". Two patterns: držati do + genitive = "to value, to set store by" (držim do tvog mišljenja — "I value your opinion"), and držati + da-clause = "to maintain that…" (slightly formal). This think/consider use is covered in full, alongside misliti and smatrati, on the opinion verbs page — go there for the complete picture; here it's enough to know the verb reaches into that territory.

4. držati se — to hold on / behave / keep to

The reflexive držati se is a workhorse with three connected senses. (a) Hold on / hold up physically or emotionally: Drži se! ("Hang in there!"), Drži se za rukohvat ("Hold on to the handrail" — here with za + accusative). (b) Behave / carry oneself: Lijepo se držao na intervjuu ("He carried himself well in the interview"). (c) Keep to / stick to something, with the genitive: držati se pravila ("stick to the rules"), držati se plana ("stick to the plan"), držati se teme ("keep to the topic"). The genitive complement in sense (c) is worth noting — it patterns like other "adhere to" verbs and is governed by the verb, not a preposition. For the se mechanism see the se passive and impersonal; for datives that attach to such verbs, the dative with verbs and adjectives.

Common Mistakes

Key Takeaways

• držati is an i-class verb despite the -ati infinitive: present držim (never *držam), 3pl drže, imperative drži, l-participle držao / držala.
• It's imperfective; the perfectives are zadržati ("retain / hold back") and održati ("hold an event / keep a promise") — pick the prefix by sense.
• Core government = accusative ("hold / keep something"); idioms držati govor / predavanje ("give a speech / lecture").
• The opinion sense (držati do
  • genitive = "value"; držati
    • da-clause = "maintain that") is covered on opinion verbs.
• Reflexive držati se = hold on / behave / keep to (the last takes the genitive: držati se pravila). Future: držat ću.