Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
hålla på. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
hålla på, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
hålla på in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
hålla på you have here. The definition of the word
hålla på will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
hålla på, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Swedish
Verb
hålla på (present håller på, preterite höll på, supine hållit på, imperative håll på)
- (often with med) to be doing, to be up to (to currently be doing something)
Jag håller på och städar- I'm (up to) cleaning
Vad håller du på med?- What are you doing? / What are you up to?
- to be at it
Hur länge har de hållit på?- How long have they been at it?
- to be in the process of (like above, but for objects, phenomena, and the like)
Mjölken håller på att ta slut- The milk is running out ("The milk is in the process of running out")
Det höll på att bli mörkt ute- It was getting dark outside ("It was in the process of getting dark outside")
- to last (go on for)
- Synonym: vara
Hur länge håller filmen på?- How long does the movie last? ("How long does the movie go on for?" – likely to be asked by someone who wants to know when it ends)
- to almost, to nearly, to be close to (have something (usually undesirable) happen – can be understood as "to be in the process of," like above, with an implication of not reaching the end)
Vasen höll på att välta- The vase almost fell over ("was in the process of falling over")
Jag höll på att svimma när jag såg vad de gjort- I almost fainted when I saw what they had done
Hon höll på att försäga sig- She almost had a slip of the tongue
- (colloquial) to be doing (something (usually disagreeable) that is clear from context, that goes on for a while)
Håll inte på så där!- Don't be like that! / Don't go on like that! (if the thing is going on about something the speaker doesn't want to hear, as an example)
- (with the stress on hålla) to root for, to support (a team or the like)
- Synonym: heja på
Vilket lag håller du på?- Which team are you rooting for?
Usage notes
Can be used to express the continuous tense, which Swedish lacks as a grammatical feature ("Jag städar" can mean both "I clean" (as opposed to never clean, or as a profession or the like) and "I'm cleaning," while "Jag håller på och städar" can only mean "I'm cleaning"). The intended meaning is usually clear from context though, and "hålla på" is often used just to give a tone closer to "be up to" as opposed to "be doing."
See also
References