behålla
Meaning
retain; keep
In Swedish: ha kvar, spara
Conjugation
| Infinitive | att behålla | to retain |
|---|---|---|
| Present | behåller | jag behåller |
| Past | behöll | jag behöll |
| Supine | behållit | used after har / hade |
| Perfect | har behållit | jag har behållit |
| Past perfect | hade behållit | jag hade behållit |
| Future | ska behålla | or: kommer att behålla |
| Conditional | skulle behålla | jag skulle behålla |
| Imperative | behåll! | a command |
| Present participle | behållande | -ing, used as an adjective |
| Past participle | behållen | used like an adjective, and agrees like one |
Passive (-s form)
| Infinitive | behållas |
|---|---|
| Present | behålls |
| Past | behölls |
| Supine | behållits |
Group 4: strong and irregular verbs. Strong verbs change their vowel and have a supine in -it (skriva, skrev, skrivit); irregular ones such as göra and ha follow no pattern. Both have to be learned one by one. Swedish verbs don't change for person: jag, du, hon, vi and de all use behåller. See the four verb groups explained.
Practise behålla
1 / 2Yesterday I … (behålla). Which is the past tense?
behålla in a sentence
- han fick behålla sitt jobbhe was allowed to stay on at his job
Questions
What does behålla mean in English?
behålla means “retain, keep”.
What is the past tense of behålla?
The past tense of behålla is behöll (“jag behöll”). The supine is behållit, used in “jag har behållit”.
What is the present tense of behålla?
behåller, the same for every person: jag behåller, du behåller, vi behåller.
Origin
From Old Swedish behalda, beholda, from Middle Low German beholden, from Old Saxon bihaldan.
Nearby common words
behålla is number 978 in our frequency list. These words come just before and after it.
Learn behålla in real Swedish, free
Words stick when you hear them used. Complete Swedish Season 1 is 49 short video lessons with a synced transcript, free on the site with no account. A free account saves words like behålla to your library and quizzes you on them, plus 7 days of the AI tutor and speaking practice when you confirm your email.
- Season 1 free in full: 49 lessons
- Synced transcript with English translations
- 7-day free trial of the AI tutor and speaking practice
- Members get the latest season and every new course
Sources: Folkets lexikon (CC BY-SA 2.5) and Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), edited by Lingolib. Recording: Wikimedia Commons. Browse the dictionary