Learn Hardcore French: Je garde ce souvenir pour l'instant.

Je garde ce souvenir.
→ I’m keeping/holding on to this memory (I choose not to forget it, or I choose to keep it emotionally or in mind).
Je me souviens de ce souvenir / Je me souviens de ça.
→ I remember this (the remembering is happening; it doesn’t emphasize a decision to keep it).

So garder adds a slight idea of choice or intention (I will keep this memory with me), while se souvenir de and se rappeler focus more on the fact of remembering.

Why is it ce souvenir and not le souvenir or ce mémoire?

ce souvenir uses the demonstrative adjective ce (this / that):
- ce souvenir = this memory / that memory
  This points to a specific memory already known in the context, a bit like "this one here".
le souvenir uses the definite article le (the):
- Je garde le souvenir de… = I keep the memory of…
  This is more generic or formal-sounding, and usually followed by more information:
  Je garde le souvenir de cette journée.
mémoire in French does not mean "a memory" in the same everyday sense:
- la mémoire = memory (the faculty of remembering)
  e.g. J’ai une bonne mémoire. = I have a good memory.
- A mémoire can also be an academic paper, dissertation, or a written report.

So:

souvenir = a specific remembered event or image
mémoire = the capacity for memory, or a written work

That’s why ce souvenir is correct here and ce mémoire would be wrong in this sense.

Is souvenir in French the same as souvenir in English (a thing you buy on holiday)?

They are related, but not exactly the same in usage.

In French:

un souvenir:
- a memory (primary meaning)
  - J’ai un bon souvenir de cette ville. = I have a good memory of this city.
- a souvenir object (like in English), but this is secondary and often clarified by context
  - J’ai acheté un souvenir pour toi.

In English, souvenir normally only means an object (a keepsake).

In the sentence Je garde ce souvenir pour l'instant, the default reading is memory, not an object, unless the wider context clearly says it’s a physical keepsake.

What does pour l'instant mean exactly? Is it the same as maintenant or en ce moment?

pour l'instant means for now, for the time being, or for the moment.
It suggests this is temporary and may change later.

Compare:

pour l’instant = for now / for the time being
- Je garde ce souvenir pour l’instant.
  → I’m keeping this memory for now (maybe later I’ll let it go or think about it differently).
maintenant = now (at this moment in time)
- Je fais ça maintenant. = I’m doing this now.
en ce moment = right now / these days (current period, not necessarily just one instant)
- En ce moment, je travaille beaucoup. = I’m working a lot these days.
pour le moment is very close in meaning to pour l’instant and often interchangeable:
- Pour le moment, ça va. ≈ Pour l’instant, ça va.

So pour l’instant focuses on temporariness rather than just “right now” in a purely time sense.

Could I say Je me souviens de ça pour l'instant instead? Does that mean the same?

That would sound odd in French.

Je me souviens de ça. = I remember that.
Adding pour l’instant here (Je me souviens de ça pour l’instant) sounds like:
I remember that for now, as if your memory might disappear soon.
Grammatically possible, but stylistically strange and rarely used.

Je garde ce souvenir pour l’instant is more natural to express:

I am choosing to keep / hold on to this memory for now,
maybe I might change how I feel about it, or let it go, later.

So if you want the nuance of keeping/holding onto the memory temporarily, garder is much more natural than se souvenir here.

Why is it Je garde (simple present) instead of something like "I am keeping" in English? Does French have a special progressive tense?

French does not have a separate progressive tense like English I am keeping.

The simple present in French (je garde) can cover:

I keep (habitual)
I am keeping (right now / currently)
I’m going to keep (in some contexts)

So:

Je garde ce souvenir pour l’instant.
→ This corresponds naturally to I’m keeping this memory for now in English.

If you really want to emphasize the idea of “right now, at this moment”, you can add en ce moment:

En ce moment, je garde ce souvenir pour l’instant.
But this is often redundant; context usually makes it clear.

How do you pronounce Je garde ce souvenir pour l'instant? Are there any tricky sounds or liaisons?

Approximate pronunciation (IPA-like, but simplified):

Je → /ʒə/ (similar to zhuh)
garde → /ɡaʁd/
- g is hard (like in go)
- r is the French guttural r at the back of the throat
- final e is silent, but the d is pronounced.
ce → /sə/ (like suh)
souvenir → /suv(ə)niʁ/
- sou like soo
- the middle e is very light, often almost swallowed
- nir with the French guttural r again.
pour → /puʁ/ (like poor but with the French r)
l’instant → /lɛ̃stɑ̃/
- in = nasal sound /ɛ̃/, somewhere between eh and an through the nose
- final -an also nasal /ɑ̃/
- the t is pronounced here.

Liaison:

There is no required liaison between pour and l’instant in everyday speech; you usually say:
pour‿l’instant without a pronounced r+l merger; just link smoothly: /puʁ‿lɛ̃stɑ̃/.

So the whole sentence:
Je garde ce souvenir pour l’instant ≈ /ʒə ɡaʁd sə suvniʁ puʁ lɛ̃stɑ̃/.

Could I replace ce souvenir with a pronoun? When would I use le or en instead?

Yes, in a real conversation, if the memory has already been clearly mentioned, a pronoun is very natural.

Using le (direct object pronoun):

Je le garde pour l’instant.
→ I’m keeping it for now.
Here, le replaces ce souvenir (masculine singular).

This is the most natural replacement if souvenir is directly the object of garder.

Using en:

You use en when souvenir is part of an expression like garder le souvenir de…
- Je garde le souvenir de cette soirée.
- J’en garde un bon souvenir. = I keep a good memory of it.

So:

Je garde ce souvenir pour l’instant. → Je le garde pour l’instant.
Je garde le souvenir de cette journée. → J’en garde le souvenir.

In your exact sentence, le is the natural pronoun to use.

Can souvenir be plural here? What would Je garde ces souvenirs pour l'instant mean?

Yes, it can be plural:

Je garde ces souvenirs pour l’instant.
→ I’m keeping these memories for now.

Changes:

ce souvenir (this memory) → ces souvenirs (these memories)
The meaning shifts from one specific memory to several memories.

Grammatically, everything else stays the same:

Je garde ce souvenir pour l’instant. (singular)
Je garde ces souvenirs pour l’instant. (plural)

This might be used, for example, if you’re thinking of several events, images, or moments you’re holding onto.

Is Je garde ce souvenir pour l'instant formal, informal, or neutral? Are there more natural alternatives?

The sentence is neutral in terms of register. It can be used both in speech and in writing.

Some possible alternatives, depending on nuance:

Je garde ce souvenir en moi pour l’instant.
→ I keep this memory inside me for now. (a bit more emotional/poetic)
Je vais garder ce souvenir pour l’instant.
→ I’m going to keep this memory for now. (slightly more “decision” focused)
Je préfère garder ce souvenir pour l’instant.
→ I prefer to keep this memory for now. (emphasizes preference)
If you want to stress remembering rather than "keeping":
- Je veux me souvenir de ça, au moins pour l’instant.
  → I want to remember that, at least for now.

But Je garde ce souvenir pour l’instant is already very natural and clear in normal conversation or writing.