Well, hello listeners and welcome to this episode of Learn Everyday English, your roadway to English proficiency.
Hey, you've come to the right place to improve your listening comprehension skills and mastery of the English language.
My name is Gary and I will be your host today.
I'm a native English speaker born and raised in the United States, living in a small Texas town about one hour north of Houston, Texas.
I'm also a language learner like you, studying Spanish, so I know what it is like to learn a new and different language.
So hey, let's jump right in to today's episode.
Well, yee -haw, howdy, y 'all.
Hey, everybody. Welcome and greetings from Texas.
Welcome to episode 25 of the Learn Everyday English podcast.
Glad to have you with me.
And again, my name is Gary.
In this episode, we are going to talk about phrasal verbs with the word hold, hold, H -O -L -D, hold.
But before we get started, I want to remind you that you can follow me at my webpage.
Just go to www .learneverydayenglish .com That's www .learneverydayenglish .com.
At the webpage, you can find links to and listen to all the podcasts directly from the webpage.
And additionally, you can subscribe and listen to the podcast on your mobile devices, especially from sites like Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and et cetera.
And also don't forget, you can check us out on our Learn Everyday English YouTube channel.
You can just look up Learn Everyday English on YouTube, or you can go to the webpage, and there's a link that will take you to the YouTube channel, where you will find many engaging, interesting videos about English, life here in the United States that will help you learn and improve your English through
watching videos. So now, without further ado, which means, hey, without waiting any longer, let's jump right in to today's episode.
In today's episode, I'm going to be going over phrasal verbs in English with the word hold, hold, H -O -L -D.
Again, I've done episodes on phrasal verbs, and this is one of the things that English language learners tell me a lot, is some of the, or one of the most confusing parts or things about learning English is trying to learn all the phrasal verbs that we have.
And I know it can be a daunting task.
That means it can be a difficult task or a difficult thing to do.
It's just no easy way around it.
We say in English, there's no easy way to do it.
You just have to do it, and just learn these slowly over time.
We're going to start right in with the first phrase with the word hold, and that is hold back, hold back.
So I'm going to give you the definition, and then use the phrasal verb in a sentence or two.
And remember, you don't have to write all this down.
Go to the Learn Every Day English webpage.
There is a link or a page on that webpage which says podcast resources, which will take you to the podcast resources page.
And there you will find the program notes, and you can just download those and just read and follow along with me.
So hold back means to stop or to prevent from happening or from progressing.
Progressing means like to move forward with some action, so to stop or prevent something from happening or progressing is hold back, for example.
His lack of English held him back from getting the job he wanted.
His lack of English held him back from getting the job he wanted.
That means he could not get the good job that he was looking forward to getting because English held him back or it prevented or stopped him from getting the job because his level of English proficiency was just not good enough or up to the level or standard that was required.
A second sentence is this, if you keep hanging around with the wrong crowd, they are going to hold you back from achieving your full potential.
If you keep hanging around with the wrong crowd, they are going to hold you back from achieving your full potential.
So first I want to go over the phrase to hang around with, hanging around with, which means just to associate with somebody or a group of people.
So we say, hey, who are you hanging around with this weekend?
I'm going to be hanging around with my family or my brother or my cousins or my friends.
The next expression in that sentence was the wrong crowd.
And the wrong crowd just means people that are a bad influence in your life or people that you may hang around with that are not good for you or do not set good examples for you or that can cause you to get into trouble.
So if you hang around with the wrong crowd, that means you are associating with people that are not good for you.
So the sentence says, if you keep hanging around with the wrong crowd, they are going to hold you back or prevent you from achieving your full potential.
The next expression with the word hold is to hold back on, hold back or hold back on, hold back on.
And this means to act with reserve.
That means to not use or put out your full effort in something or your full measure or your full output.
It can also mean to contain or stop something.
It can also mean to delay the progress of something like in school, which I'm going to give you an example of.
Or it can also mean to not release information or not to give out information.
So this can be used in a lot of different ways depending on the context of the sentence, which means what the sentence is talking about or basically what the sentence means.
The first example is this, I am getting too fat.
I need to hold back on eating sweets and junk food.
I am getting too fat.
I need to hold back on eating sweets and junk food.
That means I need to stop eating sweets and junk food or reduce the amount of sweets and junk food that I'm eating to hold back on.
The second example sentence is, my son Johnny was held back one year in elementary school because he had a learning disability.
My son Johnny was held back one year in elementary school because he had a learning disability.
So that means he was not allowed to go to the next grade level.
He was kept back in the same grade level.
So say Johnny was in first grade.
That means the year that is coming up or the next year he remained or had to repeat the first grade again so that he can improve at that time.
The third example sentence is this, I just found out I won the contest.
I can hardly hold back my excitement.
I just found out I won the contest.
I can hardly hold back my excitement.
That means I can hardly contain the excitement that I have inside of me.
I want it to come out but I'm going to hold it back or keep it inside of me.
The fourth example is this, we need to hold back production until the market demand for our product increases.
So this is an example in a business type of situation or setting.
We need to hold back production.
That means we need to slow down, reduce the amount of product that we are making or producing until the market demand for our product increases.
And finally, the last example sentence is this, they held back on releasing the results of the investigation until Friday.
They held back on releasing the results of the investigation until Friday.
That means they delayed releasing or giving out the results until Friday.
The next example is using hold something against somebody or to hold something against somebody.
And this means to feel angry towards somebody because of something that they may have done or said.
For example, because John stole his girlfriend, Bob has held that against him for his whole life.
He never forgave John for that.
So let me give you some context to this sentence.
So there are two people or two men, John and Bob.
So Bob had a girlfriend but John stole his girlfriend away from Bob.
So Bob was angry about that.
So we can say because John stole his girlfriend, that means because John stole Bob's girlfriend, Bob has held that against him, so that means Bob has held that against John for his whole life.
He never forgave John for that.
So Bob never forgave John for stealing his girlfriend.
The second example sentence is this, don't hold it against me just because I passed the test and you didn't.
Don't hold it against me just because I passed the test and you didn't.
So maybe you have a friend and you both took the same English test.
You both studied just as hard as each other.
But you passed the test and your friend didn't pass the test and your friend is upset because he didn't pass and you did so you could say, hey, don't hold it against me or don't hold that against me just because I passed the test and you didn't.
The next example phrase is hold down or to hold down.
So this has two different meanings.
It can mean to physically restrain or with the use of force to keep somebody from moving.
That means to restrain, kind of to keep somebody from moving or it can also mean to keep a job for a period of time or to have a job or maintain a job for a period of time.
So for example, the police had to hold down the suspect because he was being uncooperative and resisting arrest.
The police had to hold down or restrain the suspect or we could also say the subject but suspect because he was being uncooperative, not cooperating and resisting arrest.
The second example sentence is this.
John can't seem to hold down a job for very long.
I don't know what is up with him.
John can't seem to hold down a job for very long.
I don't know what is up with him.
So to not be able to hold down a job means that somebody does not stay employed or does not keep a job for a very long time.
They are always losing a job, changing jobs.
They are never at a job for very long.
So we say he cannot or she cannot hold down a job for very long.
In this sentence, we also have the expression, I don't know what is up with him.
That means I don't know what is going on with him, we say, or I don't know what is happening in his life that is causing him to not be able to keep a job or to hold down a job.
Basically, I don't know what type of problems he or she may be having.
The next example phrase is to hold off on, to hold off or to hold off on.
And this means to delay something temporarily or to delay someone.
So again, that means to delay someone or something temporarily.
It can also mean to wait or delay on doing something, to wait or delay on doing something.
For example, the first sentence, example sentence is this.
We need to hold off on buying our new house until we can save some more money.
We need to hold off on buying our new house until we can save some more money.
That means that we need to wait on buying our new house until we can have more money.
The second example sentence is this.
I need to hold off on making my decision until I have more information.
I need to hold off on making my decision until I have more information.
That means I need to again wait or delay my decision until I have or get more information.
Finally, the third example sentence is this.
And I can tell somebody, hey, hold off.
I need to check something real quick.
Hey, hold off. I need to check something real quick.
Hold off means, hey, I'm telling the other person, hey, you need to wait.
Hey, hold off. That means, hey, just wait a minute.
Wait a second. And I need to check something and then we can proceed or continue.
So that's very common.
We can tell somebody, hey, hold off or hey, wait a minute or hey, wait a second.
They all mean the same thing.
The next phrasal verb is to hold on or to hold on to hold on or hold on to.
So this can mean to grasp or to grip something firmly, like with your hand.
It can also mean to keep or to store something for somebody.
Somebody gives you something to hold on to or to keep for a period of time.
And it can also mean to wait for a short while or wait for a short period of time.
For example, she was holding on to my hand for dear life.
She was holding on to my hand for dear life.
This can be used in a situation.
For example, say my daughter and I, we are walking and she gets very scared.
Maybe she sees a big dog.
So she grips or grasps my hand, really means to hold on to my hand very tightly.
So I said she was holding on to my hand.
She was grabbing my hand for dear life.
For dear life is another expression in English.
And we use that when we say somebody is doing something like as if their life depended on it or as if maybe their life was in danger.
So she was holding on to my hand for dear life, like in order to save her life or to be protected from something or to maybe feel safe from something.
The second example sentence is this.
Can you hold on to my purse for me while I go to the bathroom?
Can you hold on to my purse for me while I go to the bathroom?
This is a situation.
Maybe you have two women or two girls.
They went to a party and one of them has to go to the bathroom, but she does not want to bring her purse with her.
She can ask her friend, hey, can you hold on to my purse?
That means can you keep my purse and watch it for me until I come back?
And the last expression is this.
Hold on a minute. I need to finish this real quick.
Hold on a minute. I need to finish this real quick.
That means, hey, wait a minute.
Wait a minute. Wait a short period of time.
I need to do something real quick.
So it's similar to hold off or hold off on doing something.
So hold on means to wait.
The next phrasal verb and expression is to hold out or to hold out for or to hold out on.
So hold out, hold out for, or to hold out on.
Example. Well, the definition, this means to wait or refuse to do something in the hopes of getting something better.
It can mean to survive or to endure something.
And it can also mean to withhold something from somebody or not tell somebody something that maybe they should know.
The first example sentence is this.
John already got one job offer, but he is holding out for an even better offer.
I hope he knows what he is doing.
John already got one job offer, but he is holding out for an even better offer.
I hope he knows what he is doing.
So a job offer is when a company gives you or we can say offers you a job to work for them.
That means you get a job offer.
But in this sentence, John is holding out for an even better offer.
That means he is waiting to see if he will get a better job offer from another company.
And sometimes that is good or sometimes that may be bad because you may hold off or hold out for too long and you lose the initial opportunity.
The second example sentence is this.
I know you are hungry, but can you hold out a little longer?
Dinner is almost ready.
I know you are hungry, but can you hold out a little longer?
Dinner is almost ready.
So this is something maybe your mother can tell you.
If you are very hungry, you want to eat.
She can say, hey, can you hold out a little longer?
Can you just wait a little bit longer?
Maybe five, ten minutes?
Because dinner is almost ready.
It is almost finished cooking.
And the last example sentence is this.
Wow, I didn't know you could speak English.
You have been holding out on me.
Wow, I didn't know you could speak English.
You have been holding out on me.
This means you have been keeping something from me and not telling me something that I didn't know about you.
You kept it kind of like a secret from me.
So that means to hold out on me or hold back on me, like to not tell me something.
The next example is to hold yourself together or to hold it together.
To hold yourself together or hold it together.
This means to prevent from becoming emotionally distraught, we say in English, or emotionally having an emotional breakdown or breaking apart or just becoming like depressed, angry, or upset.
So if you try to hold it together, that means you try to prevent yourself from becoming too upset, annoyed, irritated, depressed, that type of thing.
Emotionally affected by something.
So the first example sentence is this.
I know it is hard on you since your girlfriend broke up with you, but try to hold yourself together.
I know it is hard on you since your girlfriend broke up with you, but try to hold yourself together.
I can also say it this way.
I know it is hard for you.
Instead of hard on you, it is hard for you.
Either way is the same thing.
I know it is hard for you since your girlfriend broke up with you, but try to hold it together.
So instead of saying try to hold yourself together, you can also say try to hold it together means the same thing.
So sentence is saying that your girlfriend left you.
She broke up with you.
That means that's what to break up with means.
So I'm telling my friend, hey, hold yourself together.
Don't get so depressed about it and angry and emotional.
Hold yourself together or hold it together.
The second example sentence.
He made me so mad I had a hard time holding myself together because I just wanted to cuss him out.
He made me so mad I had a hard time holding myself together because I just wanted to cuss him out.
This means somebody made me so angry it was difficult for me to control myself, which means to hold myself together.
I wanted to just become angry and upset.
So I was trying to not have that happen because I just wanted to cuss him out.
And this is an expression in English means to curse somebody out or just tell somebody some bad words or use bad words when you're angry and yell at somebody using bad words or sometimes we just say cuss words or profanity, profanity.
The next to last expression is to hold up, hold up.
This has several different meanings.
It can mean to delay or to wait.
It can mean to endure something under difficult situations.
It can mean to lift, lift up or raise up.
And it can mean to fulfill or complete one's part of an agreement or obligation.
And finally, it can mean to rob somebody at gunpoint, which means to rob somebody using a gun or a weapon.
So we say to rob at gunpoint because usually you're appointing a gun at somebody when you are trying to rob them if you have a gun.
There are four example sentences.
The first is this. There was a hold up at the bank today.
There was a hold up at the bank today.
That means a robber went into the bank with a gun.
He held the bank up.
That means he used the gun to steal and take money or to rob the bank and get money from the bank.
The second example is somewhat similar.
It says, I was held up at gunpoint while walking home the other day.
I was held up at gunpoint while walking home the other day.
That means somebody came up to me or approached me with a gun, pointed it at me and stole some money from me or jewelry or something of value.
So that means I was held up at gunpoint.
I was robbed by somebody using a gun.
The third example sentence is this.
I am holding up these sheets of paper.
So maybe I'm standing in front of a class.
I have a stack of paper or some sheets of paper in my hand.
If I lift or raise them up, I can say, hey, I'm holding up these sheets of paper, holding up.
Another fourth example is this.
I can ask somebody this question.
How are you holding up?
How are you holding up?
That means, hey, how are you doing?
Usually under a difficult or a stressful situation, you expect people to become sad or depressed and you're concerned about their emotional state or emotional well -being or their welfare.
And you can ask them, hey, how are you holding up?
That means how are you doing emotionally?
Are you doing fine?
Are you doing okay?
Do you need some help?
Finally, the last phrasal verb is hold to, hold to.
That means to oblige or force someone to carry out an obligation.
So this basically means if somebody has said that they are going to do something for you, that means you are going to hold them to that.
You're going to ensure that they will continue to do what they said that they would do.
For example, I could tell my friend, he promised to help me with my English final exam and I am going to hold you to that.
He promised to help me with my English final exam and I am going to hold you to that.
That means you said you were going to help me.
I'm going to make sure, I'm going to ensure that you do help me because you said you were going to.
I'm going to make sure you will hold your end of the bargain.
Sometimes we say that in English, your end of the bargain or you fulfill your obligation.
Finally, the last sentence is this, I am going to hold you to your word when you promised to take me on vacation this summer.
I am going to hold you to your word when you promised to take me on vacation this summer.
So this means somebody said something to you.
In English, we say if they promised to do something for you, that means they gave you their word.
So you say I'm going to hold you to your word.
That means your words mean something to me and I'm going to ensure that what you said you're actually going to do for me.
So that's hold you to your word.
So that's it for this episode using phrasal verbs with the word hold.
And I hope you found this episode interesting.
Maybe you learned something new, some new phrasal verbs.
So again, phrasal verbs can be very difficult to learn.
So don't get too caught up, we say in English, in trying to learn all of these at once.
Just take your time, learn these over time and think that's the only way you can really learn them and use them.
Or if you want to, try to write sentences of your own and use them in sentences.
But I'd love to hear from you and what you thought of this episode.
If you have any questions for me, and if you have any suggestions for topics you'd like me to discuss on this podcast program, just let me know.
Go to the Learn Every Day English webpage, the homepage.
And at the bottom, there will be a contact form.
And just fill that out and send me a message.
I'd love to, like I said, hear from you.
Well, that's it for now, listeners.
Hey, be sure to check out our upcoming episodes.
And thanks for listening.
Hey, goodbye.
