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GERMAN VERB

sich festhalten

to hold on tight

  • Strong verb
  • Past participle: festgehalten

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Präsens · now, habits and facts

  1. ich I hold on tight
  2. du you hold on tight
  3. er, sie, es he/she holds on tight
  4. wir we hold on tight
  5. ihr you all hold on tight
  6. sie, Sie they hold on tight

Simple past

Präteritum · the past of writing, and of sein, haben and the modals in speech

  1. ich I held on tight
  2. du you held on tight
  3. er, sie, es he/she held on tight
  4. wir we held on tight
  5. ihr you all held on tight
  6. sie, Sie they held on tight

Perfect

Perfekt · the past of speech: “habe gemacht”

  1. ich I have held on tight
  2. du you have held on tight
  3. er, sie, es he/she has held on tight
  4. wir we have held on tight
  5. ihr you all have held on tight
  6. sie, Sie they have held on tight

Future

Futur I · “werden”; in speech the present with “morgen” does the job

  1. ich I will hold on tight
  2. du you will hold on tight
  3. er, sie, es he/she will hold on tight
  4. wir we will hold on tight
  5. ihr you all will hold on tight
  6. sie, Sie they will hold on tight

Conditional

Konjunktiv II · “would”: “würde”, and “wäre”, “hätte”, “könnte”

  1. ich I would hold on tight
  2. du you would hold on tight
  3. er, sie, es he/she would hold on tight
  4. wir we would hold on tight
  5. ihr you all would hold on tight
  6. sie, Sie they would hold on tight

Imperative

Imperativ · requests and orders: du, ihr, Sie

  1. du hold on tight!
  2. ihr hold on tight! (all of you)
  3. Sie hold on tight! (formal)

How to use sich festhalten

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Im Bus halte ich mich immer gut fest.

    On the bus I always hold on tight.

  2. Simple past

    Das Kind hielt sich an Mamas Hand fest.

    The child held on tight to Mum's hand.

  3. Perfect

    Zum Glück habe ich mich festgehalten.

    Luckily I held on tight.

  4. Future

    Ich werde mich schon festhalten, keine Angst.

    I'll hold on, don't worry.

  5. Conditional

    Ich würde mich an deiner Stelle festhalten.

    In your place I'd hold on tight.

  6. Imperative

    Haltet euch fest, es wird kurvig!

    Hold on tight, it's getting curvy!

Good to know

  • What you hold on to comes with an: Halt dich am Geländer fest.

Where you hear sich festhalten

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

German · Intermediate Level 1

  • Ich halte mich fest. I'm holding on tight.
  • Ich habe mich gut festgehalten. I held on tight.
  • Morgen hältst du dich wieder fest. Tomorrow you'll hold on tight again.
15
On the Boat

Intermediate Level 1 · Dann halt dich fest! Es weht.

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: strong verb.