Collocations with Holde | Danish Grammar

The verb holde literally means "hold" or "keep," but its real value to a fluent speaker lies in the dozens of fixed collocations it anchors. Many of these are light-verb constructions: holde carries almost no meaning of its own and simply licenses the noun or particle that does the semantic work — exactly the pattern English uses with make a decision or take a break. The trap for English speakers is that Danish and English assign these light verbs differently. Where English says give a speech, Danish says holde en tale; where English says throw a party, Danish says holde en fest. You cannot translate the verb; you have to learn the whole chunk. (Past tense throughout: holdt; perfect: har holdt.)

Sense 1: "keep / maintain" — the core

These stay close to the literal "keep" meaning. They describe maintaining a state or staying true to something.

Collocation	Meaning
holde øje med	keep an eye on
holde ord	keep one's word
holde mund	keep quiet, shut up (informal)
holde sammen	stick together
holde igen	hold back, ease off
holde stille	keep still

Kan du holde øje med børnene, mens jeg lige svarer telefonen?

Can you keep an eye on the kids while I just answer the phone?

Han lovede at ringe, og han holder altid sit ord.

He promised to call, and he always keeps his word.

Vi har været igennem meget, men familien har altid holdt sammen.

We've been through a lot, but the family has always stuck together.

Du må gerne tage et stykke kage, men hold lidt igen med flødeskummen.

You're welcome to have a piece of cake, but go easy on the whipped cream.

💡

Holde stille ("keep still / stop moving") and standse / stoppe ("come to a halt") are not interchangeable. A child who won't holde stille is fidgeting; a car that standser has braked. Don't reach for holde stille when you mean a vehicle stopping.

Sense 2: "host / hold an event"

Here holde is a true light verb: it means "put on" or "host." This is the cluster English speakers most often get wrong, because English distributes three different verbs (give, throw, hold) across these.

Collocation	Meaning
holde en tale	give a speech
holde en fest	throw a party
holde et møde	hold a meeting
holde et foredrag	give a lecture / talk
holde ferie / holde fri	be on holiday / take time off
holde pause	take a break

Brudgommen holdt en rørende tale til middagen.

The groom gave a moving speech at the dinner.

Vi holder fest på lørdag — kommer I?

We're throwing a party on Saturday — are you coming?

Jeg holder fri på fredag, så jeg kan ikke nå mødet.

I'm taking Friday off, so I can't make the meeting.

Lad os holde en kort pause og fortsætte om ti minutter.

Let's take a short break and continue in ten minutes.

Sense 3: "endure / be fond of" — the emotional and the durable

Two more collocations sit slightly apart in meaning. Holde ud means to endure or put up with something; holde af means to be fond of someone or something (a warm, slightly understated love — less intense than elske).

Jeg kan ikke holde larmen ud mere — kan vi gå?

I can't stand the noise any longer — can we go?

Hun holder meget af sit gamle sommerhus.

She's very fond of her old summer cottage.

Closely related, holde used of materials means "to last / withstand wear":

De her støvler er dyre, men de holder i mange år.

These boots are expensive, but they last for many years.

Sense 4: particle and prepositional verbs

Several high-frequency expressions pair holde with a particle or preposition and shift meaning further.

Collocation	Meaning
holde til	be based at / hang out at; also withstand
holde for	cover; take something to be
holde op	stop, quit (doing something)
holde fast i	hold on to, keep a grip on

Foreningen holder til i en gammel villa nede ved havnen.

The club is based in an old villa down by the harbour.

Hold dig fast — det her bliver vildt.

Hold on tight — this is going to be wild.

Hold for ørerne, nu kommer der et brag.

Cover your ears, here comes a bang.

For holde op in detail (and its overlap with standse and stoppe), and for the affectionate holde af, see the dedicated verb pages.

Common Mistakes

❌ Brudgommen gav en tale.

Incorrect — English 'give a speech' transfers the wrong light verb.

✅ Brudgommen holdt en tale.

The groom gave a speech.

❌ Vi laver en fest på lørdag.

Incorrect — 'lave' (make/do) is the wrong verb here; the fixed chunk uses 'holde'.

✅ Vi holder en fest på lørdag.

We're throwing a party on Saturday.

❌ Bilen holdt stille foran krydset.

Misleading — 'holde stille' is for staying motionless, not for a vehicle braking; this reads as 'sat there idling'.

✅ Bilen standsede foran krydset.

The car stopped in front of the junction.

❌ Jeg kan ikke holde ud larmen.

Incorrect word order — the object follows the particle: 'holde larmen ud' or, with a clause, 'holde ud at...'.

✅ Jeg kan ikke holde larmen ud.

I can't stand the noise.

❌ Jeg holder af dig så meget.

Awkward — adverb placement; put 'meget' before 'af' or use a different intensifier.

✅ Jeg holder rigtig meget af dig.

I'm very fond of you.

Key Takeaways

holde is a light verb: in event expressions it carries no meaning, so learn the whole phrase (holde en tale, holde fest, holde pause), not the verb alone.
English give / throw / hold all map onto Danish holde for speeches, parties and meetings.
holde øje med, holde ord, holde sammen, holde igen keep close to the literal "keep / maintain" sense.
Don't confuse holde stille (stay motionless) with standse / stoppe (come to a halt).

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