underhålla

Underhålla is a Swedish verb with two main senses. In everyday language it means to entertain someone, to amuse or keep an audience engaged. In a maintenance or service context it means to maintain or keep something in good condition, providing upkeep or support for a system, facility, or organization. The meaning is usually clear from context and can be linked to related nouns such as underhåll (maintenance) and underhållning (entertainment). The verb can also be used reflexively, as in underhålla sig, meaning to entertain oneself.

Etymology and form: Underhålla is a compound of under- and hålla (to hold). The phrase has developed in Swedish to cover both keeping someone amused and keeping something in working order. It is a regular verb in many forms but shows irregular stem changes in past tense: present underhåller, past underhöll, supine underhållit, with the present participle underhållande, which can also function as an adjective meaning entertaining.

Usage notes: As a transitive verb, underhålla takes an object such as a person or a thing. Examples include: Artisten underhöll publiken under konserten, and Företaget underhåller sina kunder med bra service. For maintenance contexts one can say Bilen behöver underhåll, or Vi underhåller bilen regelbundet. Passive constructions are common too, e.g., Publiken blev underhållen.

See also: underhåll (maintenance), underhållning (entertainment), hålla, and related phrases that distinguish between entertainment and upkeep in Swedish usage.