Ég held áfram að lesa textann hægt.

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Breakdown of Ég held áfram að lesa textann hægt.

• lesa: to read
• hægt: slowly
• textinn: the text

Questions & Answers about Ég held áfram að lesa textann hægt.

Why doesn’t ég held mean I think here?

Because halda has more than one common use.

• Ég held að... often means I think that...
• But halda áfram is a fixed expression meaning to continue / to keep going

So in Ég held áfram að lesa..., the word áfram makes it clear that this is halda áfram = continue, not I think.

Why is it held and not halda?

Halda is the infinitive, meaning to hold / to continue.

After ég, you need the 1st person singular present tense form, which is held:

• að halda = to continue
• ég held = I continue
• við höldum = we continue

So Ég held áfram... is the correctly conjugated form.

What does áfram do in this sentence?