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"Hold" is a transitive verb which is often translated as "agarrar", and "take" is a transitive verb which is often translated as "tomar". Learn more about the difference between "hold" and "take" below.
hold(
hold
)A transitive verb is a verb that requires a direct object (e.g., I bought a book.).
1. (to grasp)
a. agarrar
You'd better hold my hand while we cross the street, son.Conviene que me agarres la mano mientras cruzamos la calle, hijo.
b. coger
Can you hold my books while I tie my shoes please?¿Me coges los libros mientras me ato los zapatos, por favor?
c. sujetar
He ran after the bus holding his books tightly.Se fue corriendo tras el camión sujetando los libros fuertemente.
d. tener
She held a book in one hand, and a flower in the other.Tenía un libro en una mano y una flor en la otra.
e. sostener
Hold your ticket in front of you as you board the airplane.Sostén tu boleto delante de ti al abordar el avión.
f. abrazar (to embrace)
Hold me tight! It's been an awful day.¡Abrázame fuerte! Ha sido un día horrible.
2. (to keep)
a. mantener
Paco de Lucia could hold thousands spellbound for hours.Paco de Lucía podía mantener a miles hechizados por horas.
b. sostener
Edwina can hold a perfect C for more than 30 seconds.Edwina puede sostener un do perfecto por más de 30 segundos.
c. conservar
Juan Carlos has held his job through three administrations.Juan Carlos ha conservado su trabajo a lo largo de tres administraciones.
d. mantenerse
He held himself together as the jury read the sentence.Se mantuvo tranquilo mientras el jurado leía la sentencia.
3. (to grip)
a. agarrarse
These new tires really hold the road well.Estas llantas nuevas realmente se agarran bien a la carretera.
4. (to detain)
a. retener
The bank held the funds for three days after the check was deposited.El banco retuvo los fondos por tres días después de depositar el cheque.
a. contener
Hold your breath because the stench is unbearable.Contén la respiración porque el hedor es insoportable.
b. detener
The police are holding a suspect for questioning.La policía está deteniendo a un sospechoso para interrogarlo.
c. tener
The kidnappers held him prisoner in a cage for two months.Los secuestradores lo tuvieron preso en una jaula por dos meses.
6. (to contain)
a. contener
The company says their new super juice holds the secret to radiant health.La empresa dice que su nuevo superjugo contiene el secreto de la salud radiante.
b. tener capacidad
The conference hall holds more than 1,000 people.La sala de conferencias tiene capacidad para más de 1,000 personas.
c. tener cabida para
The new stadium holds twice as many people as the old one.El nuevo estadio tiene cabida para el doble de personas que el antiguo.
7. (to conduct)
a. celebrar
We're going to hold the meeting at the home office.Vamos a celebrar la junta en la sede.
b. mantener
My cousin and I can hold a conversation that goes on all night.Mi prima y yo podemos mantener una conversación durante toda la noche.
c. llevar a cabo
We're going to hold our wedding in a small church.Vamos a llevar a cabo la boda en una iglesia pequeña.
d. dar
Eugene is going to hold a conference for his sales agents this weekend.Eugene va a dar una conferencia para sus agentes de ventas este fin de semana.
e. tener lugar
The meeting will be held at a local coffee shop.La reunión tendrá lugar en un café local.
a. sostener
Karla continues to hold that she won the election.Karla sigue sosteniendo que ganó las elecciones.
b. mantener
My grandfather still holds the idea that women should not work.Mi abuelo todavía mantiene la idea de que las mujeres no deben trabajar.
c. considerar
In some places, the law holds that smoking in the presence of a child is physical abuse.En algunas partes, la ley considera que fumar en presencia de un menor es abuso físico.
d. tener
Fernando has always held Diego in high esteem.Fernando siempre ha tenido a Diego en gran estima.
9. (to reserve)
a. guardar
If you make a down payment, the store will hold it for you for three months or until you pay it off.Si pagas un enganche, la tienda te lo guardará por tres meses o hasta que lo saldes.
b. reservar
I called the restaurant and asked them to hold a table for us.Llamé al restaurante y les pedí que nos reservaran una mesa.
10. (to possess)
a. poseer
The association holds the building, but the land is owned by a private company.La asociación posee el edificio, pero el terreno es propiedad de una empresa privada.
b. ocupar
The Mongols held large swaths of China for decades.Los mongoles ocuparon grandes franjas de China durante décadas.
c. tener
Our lawyer is holding all the pertinent documents until the case is resolved.Nuestro abogado tiene todos los documentos pertinentes hasta resolver el caso.
d. ostentar
Jack held the long jump record for 20 years.Jack ostentó el récord de salto de longitud por 20 años.
a. deparar
Dr. Mora will be speaking to us about what the future holds in the world of solar technology.El Dr. Mora nos hablará sobre lo que nos depara el futuro en el mundo de la tecnología solar.
12. (to bear)
a. sostener
The floor is too weak to hold the weight of the machinery. It needs to be reinforced.El piso es demasiado frágil para sostener el peso de la maquinaria, hay que reforzarlo.
a. no colgar
Is Mr. Santana in? - Hold the line a moment and I'll check.¿Se encuentra el Sr. Santana? - No cuelgue, voy a ver.
An intransitive verb is one that does not require a direct object (e.g., The man sneezed.).
14. (to remain)
a. continuar
The dry weather held for the whole week.El tiempo seco continuó durante toda la semana.
b. mantenerse
The stock market held steady on news of a flat job market.La bolsa de valores se mantuvo estable con las noticias de un mercado laboral sin cambios.
c. seguir bueno
Hopefully the weather will hold until we reach the port.Ojalá siga bueno el clima hasta llegar al puerto.
15. (to stay firm)
16. (to be valid)
a. ser válido
Your theory would hold if this were a civil case, but since it is a criminal one, it does not.Tu teoría sería válida si este fuera un caso civil, pero como es penal, no lo es.
a. no colgar
Hello, is Alex there? - Hold on a moment and I'll go get him.Hola, ¿se encuentra Alex? - No cuelgues, ahora viene.
A noun is a word referring to a person, animal, place, thing, feeling, or idea (e.g., man, dog, house).
19. (mountaineering)
a. el asidero (M)
(m) means that a noun is masculine. Spanish nouns have a gender, which is either feminine (like la mujer or la luna) or masculine (like el hombre or el sol).
A rock climber must choose their hold carefully in order to avoid falling.Un alpinista debe escoger su asidero con cuidado para evitar caerse.
20. (wrestling)
a. la llave (F)
(f) means that a noun is feminine. Spanish nouns have a gender, which is either feminine (like la mujer or la luna) or masculine (like el hombre or el sol).
The wrestler got his opponent in a hold and held him steady until the referee counted to ten.El luchador le hizo una llave a su contrincante y lo sostuvo así hasta que el árbitro contó hasta diez.
21. (control)
a. el dominio (M)
(m) means that a noun is masculine. Spanish nouns have a gender, which is either feminine (like la mujer or la luna) or masculine (like el hombre or el sol).
So many citizens rose up in opposition to the dictator's hold that he fled the country.Tantos ciudadanos se levantaron en oposición al dominio del dictador que este huyó del país.
a. la bodega (F)
(f) means that a noun is feminine. Spanish nouns have a gender, which is either feminine (like la mujer or la luna) or masculine (like el hombre or el sol).
When they threw the luggage in the hold, I lost all hope of my champagne arriving without breaking.Cuando tiraron el equipaje a la bodega, perdí toda esperanza de que mi champaña llegara sin romperse.
23. (wait)
a. la espera (F)
(f) means that a noun is feminine. Spanish nouns have a gender, which is either feminine (like la mujer or la luna) or masculine (like el hombre or el sol).
The secretary put me on hold five minutes ago. I wonder when she'll put me through.La secretaria me puso en espera hace cinco minutos. Me pregunto cuándo me comunicará.
take(
teyk
)A transitive verb is a verb that requires a direct object (e.g., I bought a book.).
2. (to occupy)
a. tomar
Once there, take the second turn on the left.Una vez allí, toma el segundo desvío a la izquierda.
b. agarrar (Latin America)
Regionalism used in Latin America: all the countries in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Does not include Spain.
We have to take the expressway to Arlington.Tenemos que agarrar la autopista que va a Arlington.
9. (to steal)
a. llevarse
I left the laptop in my car and someone took it.Dejé el portátil en el coche y alguien se lo llevó.
11. (to buy)
12. (to gather)
13. (to capture)
a. tomar (a city or a prisoner)
They took the city after a two-week battle.Tomaron la ciudad tras dos semanas de lucha.
14. (to obtain)
15. (to ingest)
a. tomar (medicine or food)
You have to take one tablet every four hours.Tiene que tomar una pastilla cada cuatro horas.
a. tener capacidad para
The stadium can take up to 75,000 people.El estadio tiene capacidad para 75,000 personas.
17. (to accept)
a. aceptar (cash or bribe)
This restaurant only takes cash.En este restaurante solo aceptan efectivo.
c. admitir (patients)
At the moment, the hospital cannot take any more patients.De momento, el hospital no puede admitir más pacientes.
18. (to support)
a. soportar
Our chairs are designed to take weights of up to 130 kg.Nuestras sillas están diseñadas para soportar pesos de hasta 130 kg.
19. (to suffer)
20. (to tolerate)
a. aguantar
Ever feel like you can't take it anymore?¿Alguna vez has sentido que ya no aguantabas más?
21. (to interpret)
22. (to understand)
a. entender
There are books and then there are books, if you take my meaning.Hay libros y hay libros, si me entiendes.
23. (to consider)
a. tomar
Take China, for example. It has fewer natural resources, but it is developing optimally.Tomemos por ejemplo a China. Tiene menos recursos naturales pero su desarrollo es óptimo.
b. mirar
Take Mark. He has already forgotten about the whole thing.Mira a Mark. A él ya se le ha olvidado completamente el asunto.
24. (to mistake)
25. (to carry out)
b. tomar (measures or decision)
If the ceasefire is not respected, we'll feel obliged to take appropriate measures.Si no se respeta el alto al fuego, nos veremos obligados a tomar las medidas oportunas.
26. (to study)
27. (to sit an exam)
a. presentarse a
State the reasons why you want to take the exam.Indique las razones por las que desea presentarse al examen.
28. (to require)
a. hacer falta
It took me several tries before I managed it.Me hicieron falta varios intentos antes de conseguirlo.
29. (to use)
b. aprovechar (opportunity)
I'll take this opportunity to thank you for all your support.Aprovecho la oportunidad para agradecerles todo su apoyo.
30. (to occupy time)
31. (to photograph)
32. (to write down)
33. (to measure)
34. (to believe)
a. ser de
He takes the view that design is nothing without function.Es de la opinión de que el diseño no es nada sin funcionalidad.
a. gustar
I am very taken with him, but do I really want to start a relationship?Me gusta mucho, pero ¿quiero de verdad meterme en una relación?
36. (to feel)
37. (to carry on)
a. continuar
I'll stop now and tomorrow we'll take it from here.Lo dejo aquí y mañana continuamos a partir de este punto.
38. (mathematics)
39. (grammar)
a. alquilar
We are taking an apartment in Venice for two months.Vamos a alquilar un apartamento en Venecia por dos meses.
a. dar clase a
He took us for maths in secondary school.Nos daba clase de matemáticas en bachillerato.
An intransitive verb is one that does not require a direct object (e.g., The man sneezed.).
42. (gardening)
43. (medicine)
a. surtir efecto (vaccine)
The vaccine took for some children, but not for others.En el caso de algunos niños la vacuna surtió efecto, en el de otros no.
44. (to kindle)
45. (to adhere)
46. (to receive)
a. recibir
You need to strike the right balance between giving and taking.Tienes que encontrar el equilibrio apropiado entre dar y recibir.
A noun is a word referring to a person, animal, place, thing, feeling, or idea (e.g., man, dog, house).
47. (earnings)
a. la recaudación (F)
(f) means that a noun is feminine. Spanish nouns have a gender, which is either feminine (like la mujer or la luna) or masculine (like el hombre or el sol).
For tax purposes, tips are estimated based on the take of the restaurant.A efectos impositivos, las propinas se calculan en base a la recaudación del restaurante.
48. (cinema)
49. (point of view)
a. la opinión (F)
(f) means that a noun is feminine. Spanish nouns have a gender, which is either feminine (like la mujer or la luna) or masculine (like el hombre or el sol).
I'd love to hear his take on the subject.Me encantaría conocer su opinión sobre el tema.
50. (fishing)
a. la captura (F)
(f) means that a noun is feminine. Spanish nouns have a gender, which is either feminine (like la mujer or la luna) or masculine (like el hombre or el sol).
The law prohibits the take of species that are considered to be endangered.La ley prohíbe la captura de las especies que se consideran en peligro de extinción.
