Ég held áfram að læra íslensku á kvöldin.

I continue to learn Icelandic in the evenings.

Breakdown of Ég held áfram að læra íslensku á kvöldin.

• ég: I
• á: in
• kvöldið: the evening
• læra: to learn

Questions & Answers about Ég held áfram að læra íslensku á kvöldin.

In this sentence, what does held áfram mean, and is halda áfram að a fixed expression?

Halda áfram (here ég held áfram) is a common verb–particle expression meaning “to continue, to keep on (doing something)”.

• halda on its own can mean “to hold”, “to keep”, or “to think/believe”.
• áfram means “onwards, forward”.

Together, halda áfram = “to continue / to keep on”.

When you want to say “continue doing X”, the normal structure is:

halda áfram að + infinitive
Ég held áfram að læra íslensku …
= I keep on learning Icelandic …

So yes, halda áfram að + [verb in infinitive] is a very standard pattern.

Be careful not to confuse this with halda að (without áfram), which means “to think that …”:

• Ég held að hann komi. = I think that he will come.
• Ég held áfram að læra. = I continue to study.

How is the verb halda conjugated, especially in the present and past?