The word ‘keep’ can mean many different things. As a verb, the meaning is to continue or retain possession.
For example:
- Keep walking down the road then turn left. (continue)
- He said I could keep the blue pen. (retain possession)
Keep is an irregular verb. The past tense is kept and the past participle is kept.
phrasal verbs with keep
Phrasal verbs with ‘keep’ include:
- Keep around (have close)
- Keep at (continue)
- Keep away (not allowed near)
- Keep back (don’t go to close)
- Keep in (not allow out)
- Keep in with (stay on good terms)
- Keep off (don’t stand on)
- Keep on (continue)
- Keep out (not allowed near)
- Keep from (stop someone doing something)
- Keep to (follow the rules)
- Keep up (maintain a good pace)
- Keep up with (at the same pace)
Let’s learn the meaning of the phrasal verbs that contain the verb ‘keep’ in more detail and see some examples in use.
idioms with verbs – KEEP
Did you know that many idiomatic expressions (idioms) in English also contain a lot of verbs? Just like phrasal verbs, idioms are a major part of the English language (slang in particular). They are used constantly amongst native English speakers and are handy to know and understand.
Now you’ve learnt all the phrasal verbs with keep, how about learning the idioms with keep too?
