student asking question

Why is there "to" after "hold on"? Can't I just say "hold on my dream"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Great question. When "hold on" is being used to talk about holding something tightly or carefully so that you do not drop it or lose it, it needs to be followed by to. So he's saying he holds his dreams tightly (or thinks of his dreams) when life is hard. Hold on by itself means to wait. So, "hold on my dream" would sound as though you're telling your dream to wait. Ex: Hold on to the rails. (Hold the rail tightly) Ex: Hold on a minute. (Wait a minute)

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