halda is a verb with a split personality. In one life it means "to hold, to keep" — gripping something, keeping a promise, holding an event. In the other it means "to think, to believe" — ég held að… "I think that…", the single most common way to voice an opinion in spoken Icelandic. It is a strong verb with the vowel jumps a → e → é, and an a-stem that triggers u-umlaut in the við form (höldum). Learning to flip between "hold" and "think" cleanly is what this page is for.
Conjugation
Class: strong (ablaut series with present held, past hélt). Auxiliary: hafa — ég hef haldið "I have held/thought."
| Principal parts | |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | að halda |
| 3sg present | heldur |
| 3sg past | hélt |
| Supine | haldið |
| Person | Present (nútíð) | Past (þátíð) |
|---|---|---|
| ég | held | hélt |
| þú | heldur | hélst |
| hann / hún / það | heldur | hélt |
| við | höldum | héldum |
| þið | haldið | hélduð |
| þeir / þær / þau | halda | héldu |
| Person | Present subjunctive | Past subjunctive |
|---|---|---|
| ég | haldi | héldi |
| þú | haldir | héldir |
| hann / hún / það | haldi | héldi |
| við | höldum | héldum |
| þið | haldið | hélduð |
| þeir / þær / þau | haldi | héldu |
| Non-finite & imperative | |
|---|---|
| Imperative (þú) | halt! / haltu (with attached pronoun) |
| Imperative (þið) | haldið! |
| Supine | haldið |
| Past participle (m/f/n) | haldinn / haldin / haldið |
| Middle voice (miðmynd) | haldast (3sg helst, past hélst) |
Sense 1: hold / keep — and the dative of grip
In its physical sense, "to hold (onto) something" is halda á + dative (or halda í + dat.): the thing held sits in the dative case, not the accusative. This catches English speakers, who expect a plain object.
Geturðu haldið á töskunni minni andartak?
Can you hold my bag for a second?
Haltu fast í handriðið, það er hált.
Hold tight to the railing, it's slippery.
Without a preposition, halda means "keep, maintain" — keeping a promise, keeping the rules:
Hann heldur alltaf loforð sín.
He always keeps his promises.
Sense 2: think / believe — halda (að)
This is the everyday workhorse. halda + að + clause means "to think, believe, suppose." It expresses a belief you hold but can't be sure of — which is exactly why the að-clause often slips into the subjunctive, the mood of the uncertain. Both indicative and subjunctive are heard; the subjunctive flags more genuine doubt.
Ég held að hún sé á leiðinni.
I think she's on her way. (subjunctive sé — I'm not certain)
Ég hélt að þú værir farinn heim.
I thought you'd gone home. (a belief that turned out wrong)
Distinguish this from finnast and þykja: halda is a factual guess ("I reckon X is the case"), while finnast gives a subjective impression ("X strikes me as…"). "I think it's going to rain" is halda; "I think the soup is too salty" is finnast.
Idioms you will use constantly
halda áfram — "to continue, carry on" (literally "hold onwards"):
Höldum áfram, við erum næstum komin.
Let's keep going, we're almost there.
halda upp á — "to celebrate, to be fond of":
Við héldum upp á afmælið hennar á laugardaginn.
We celebrated her birthday on Saturday.
halda fyrirlestur / ræðu / veislu — "to give a lecture / speech, throw a party" (here halda = "hold an event"):
Prófessorinn hélt fyrirlestur um eldfjöll.
The professor gave a lecture on volcanoes.
The middle voice: haldast
The middle voice haldast means "to hold / stay (in a state), to last." It describes something keeping itself in place rather than someone holding it.
Vonandi helst gott veður út vikuna.
Hopefully the good weather will hold out through the week.
Common Mistakes
❌ Við haldum áfram.
Incorrect — the a-stem u-umlauts before -um: höldum, not haldum
✅ Við höldum áfram.
We continue.
❌ Ég held súpuna of salta.
Incorrect — a subjective impression is finnast, not halda
✅ Mér finnst súpan of sölt.
I think the soup is too salty.
❌ Geturðu haldið töskuna mína?
Incorrect — physical holding is halda á + dative
✅ Geturðu haldið á töskunni minni?
Can you hold my bag?
❌ Ég haldi að hún komi.
Incorrect — the present indicative 1sg is held; haldi is the subjunctive form
✅ Ég held að hún komi.
I think she's coming.
Key Takeaways
- halda / held / hélt / haldið — strong verb; the a-stem u-umlauts to höldum before -um.
- "Hold onto" = halda á / í
- dative; "keep, maintain" = plain halda.
- halda (að) = "think, believe" — the main way to state an opinion; the að-clause often goes subjunctive.
- Use halda for factual guesses, finnast for subjective impressions.
- Key idioms: halda áfram (continue), halda upp á (celebrate), halda fyrirlestur (give a lecture).
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Start learning Icelandic →Related Topics
- Strong Verb Classes 4-7B1 — The last four ablaut classes of Icelandic strong verbs: Class 4 (e–a–á–o: bera → bar, báru, borið; nema, stela), Class 5 (e–a–á–e: gefa → gaf, gáfu, gefið; lesa, sjá → sá, sáu, séð), Class 6 (a–ó–ó–a: fara → fór, fóru, farið; taka → tók, standa → stóð), and Class 7 (the reduplicating remnant with é-preterites: halda → hélt, héldu, haldið; láta → lét, falla → féll, ganga → gekk, fá → fékk) — where the most irregular-looking everyday verbs actually live.
- halda vs finnast vs þykja: 'Think/Find'B1 — A decision guide for the three verbs English flattens into 'think': halda 'believe / suppose' (a conjecture about a fact, nominative subject + að-clause — ég held að…), finnast 'find / think' (a subjective impression, dative subject — mér finnst), and þykja 'find / deem' (more formal and evaluative, dative subject — mér þykir leitt). Belief takes ég; impression takes mér — so the wrong verb gives the wrong case.
- finnast vs þykja vs halda: 'Think/Seem'B1 — The 'think/seem/find' cluster that English collapses into one word: finnast (dative subject, a subjective impression — mér finnst þetta gott), þykja (dative subject, more formal and evaluative — mér þykir vænt um þig), and halda (ordinary nominative subject, a belief or conjecture — ég held að…). The case of the subject is the giveaway: an impression takes mér; a belief takes ég.