keep – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of keep

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to keep a stiff upper lip
Participle: kept a stiff upper lip
Gerund: keeping a stiff upper lip

Cognates

-

Indicative

Present

Ikeep a stiff upper lip
youkeep a stiff upper lip
he;she;itkeeps a stiff upper lip
wekeep a stiff upper lip
youkeep a stiff upper lip
theykeep a stiff upper lip

Perfect

Ihave kept a stiff upper lip
youhave kept a stiff upper lip
he;she;ithas kept a stiff upper lip
wehave kept a stiff upper lip
youhave kept a stiff upper lip
theyhave kept a stiff upper lip

Past

Ikept a stiff upper lip
youkept a stiff upper lip
he;she;itkept a stiff upper lip
wekept a stiff upper lip
youkept a stiff upper lip
theykept a stiff upper lip

Pluperfect

Ihad kept a stiff upper lip
youhad kept a stiff upper lip
he;she;ithad kept a stiff upper lip
wehad kept a stiff upper lip
youhad kept a stiff upper lip
theyhad kept a stiff upper lip

Future

Iwill keep a stiff upper lip
youwill keep a stiff upper lip
he;she;itwill keep a stiff upper lip
wewill keep a stiff upper lip
youwill keep a stiff upper lip
theywill keep a stiff upper lip

Future Perfect

Iwill have kept a stiff upper lip
youwill have kept a stiff upper lip
he;she;itwill have kept a stiff upper lip
wewill have kept a stiff upper lip
youwill have kept a stiff upper lip
theywill have kept a stiff upper lip

Subjunctive

Present

Ikeep a stiff upper lip
youkeep a stiff upper lip
he;she;itkeep a stiff upper lip
wekeep a stiff upper lip
youkeep a stiff upper lip
theykeep a stiff upper lip

Perfect

Ihave kept a stiff upper lip
youhave kept a stiff upper lip
he;she;ithave kept a stiff upper lip
wehave kept a stiff upper lip
youhave kept a stiff upper lip
theyhave kept a stiff upper lip

Imperfect

Ikept a stiff upper lip
youkept a stiff upper lip
he;she;itkept a stiff upper lip
wekept a stiff upper lip
youkept a stiff upper lip
theykept a stiff upper lip

Pluperfect

Ihad kept a stiff upper lip
youhad kept a stiff upper lip
he;she;ithad kept a stiff upper lip
wehad kept a stiff upper lip
youhad kept a stiff upper lip
theyhad kept a stiff upper lip

Conditional

Present

Iwould keep a stiff upper lip
youwould keep a stiff upper lip
he;she;itwould keep a stiff upper lip
wewould keep a stiff upper lip
youwould keep a stiff upper lip
theywould keep a stiff upper lip

Perfect

Iwould have kept a stiff upper lip
youwould have kept a stiff upper lip
he;she;itwould have kept a stiff upper lip
wewould have kept a stiff upper lip
youwould have kept a stiff upper lip
theywould have kept a stiff upper lip

Imperative

youkeep a stiff upper lip
weLet's keep a stiff upper lip
youkeep a stiff upper lip

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Iam keeping a stiff upper lip
youare keeping a stiff upper lip
he;she;itis keeping a stiff upper lip
weare keeping a stiff upper lip
youare keeping a stiff upper lip
theyare keeping a stiff upper lip

Perfect

Ihave been keeping a stiff upper lip
youhave been keeping a stiff upper lip
he;she;ithas been keeping a stiff upper lip
wehave been keeping a stiff upper lip
youhave been keeping a stiff upper lip
theyhave been keeping a stiff upper lip

Past

Iwas keeping a stiff upper lip
youwere keeping a stiff upper lip
he;she;itwas keeping a stiff upper lip
wewere keeping a stiff upper lip
youwere keeping a stiff upper lip
theywere keeping a stiff upper lip

Pluperfect

Ihad been keeping a stiff upper lip
youhad been keeping a stiff upper lip
he;she;ithad been keeping a stiff upper lip
wehad been keeping a stiff upper lip
youhad been keeping a stiff upper lip
theyhad been keeping a stiff upper lip

Future

Iwill be keeping a stiff upper lip
youwill be keeping a stiff upper lip
he;she;itwill be keeping a stiff upper lip
wewill be keeping a stiff upper lip
youwill be keeping a stiff upper lip
theywill be keeping a stiff upper lip

Future Perfect

Iwill have been keeping a stiff upper lip
youwill have been keeping a stiff upper lip
he;she;itwill have been keeping a stiff upper lip
wewill have been keeping a stiff upper lip
youwill have been keeping a stiff upper lip
theywill have been keeping a stiff upper lip

Conditional

Present

Iwould be keeping a stiff upper lip
youwould be keeping a stiff upper lip
he;she;itwould be keeping a stiff upper lip
wewould be keeping a stiff upper lip
youwould be keeping a stiff upper lip
theywould be keeping a stiff upper lip

Perfect

Iwould have been keeping a stiff upper lip
youwould have been keeping a stiff upper lip
he;she;itwould have been keeping a stiff upper lip
wewould have been keeping a stiff upper lip
youwould have been keeping a stiff upper lip
theywould have been keeping a stiff upper lip

Other

Verbs conjugated like 'keep'

creep, feel, keep, lose, oversleep, sleep, sweep, weep, becreep, besleep, book-keep, bookkeep, cosleep, downsweep, foreweep, forsleep, gatekeep, housekeep, increep, kape, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)

Verbs similar to 'keep'

beep, eep, jeep, keek, keel, keen, kemp, meep, peep, seep,

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

to reside for a time
sojourn
transitive|proceed with|to prolong
continue, keep on, proceed, sustain
to be left after a number or quantity has been subtracted or cut off
beleave, belive, remain, rest, stay
to stay somewhere temporarily
quarter, sleep over, sojourn, stay, stay over, stop, stop off, stop over, tarry
hold
restrain, detain, maintain, retain, reserve, have
obey
comply, conform, mind, observe, follow
observe
respect, consecrate, sanctify, honor, celebrate, commemorate, solemnize
stock
carry, have

Antonyms

hold
drop, desert, forego, forsake

Additional Information

Phrasal Verbs

Etymology

1. late O.E. cepan "to seize, hold," also "to observe," from P.Gmc. *kopijanan, but with no certain connection to other languages. It possibly is related to O.E. capian "to look," from P.Gmc. *kap- (cepan was used c.1000 to render L. observare), which would make the basic sense "to keep an eye on."
"The word prob. belongs primarily to the vulgar and non-literary stratum of the language; but it comes up suddenly into literary use c.1000, and that in many senses, indicating considerable previous development." [OED]
Meaning "financially support and privately control" (usually in ref. to mistresses) is from 1560. The noun meaning "innermost stronghold of a tower" is from 1586, perhaps a translation of It. tenazza, with a notion of "that which keeps" (someone or something); the sense of "food required to keep a person or animal" is attested from 1801. Keepsake is first recorded 1790, on model of namesake; thus an object kept for the sake of the giver. For keeps "completely, for good" is Amer.Eng. colloquial, from 1861. Keeper "one who has charge of some person or thing, warden" is from c.1300; sense of "one who carries on some business" is from c.1440.
2. From Middle English kepen (“to keep, guard, look after, watch”), from Old English cēpan (“to seize, hold, observe”), from Proto-West Germanic *kōpijan, from Proto-Germanic *kōpijaną (“to look, heed, watch, observe”) (compare West Frisian kypje (“to look”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵab-, *ǵāb- (“to look after”) (compare Lithuanian žẽbti (“to eat reluctantly”), Russian забо́та (zabóta, “care, worry”)).
3. The dialectal sense of the verb meaning “to put back” or “put away” may be analyzed as a semantic loan from a local language—compare Welsh cadw and Mandarin 收 (shōu). See: Middle English 'kepen', Proto-Germanic '*kōpijaną'.

Sample Sentences

  • [...] to elbow his way upward in the world. He was much over-dressed, in a gaudy vest of many colors, a blue neckerchief, bedropped gayly with yellow spots, and arranged with a flaunting tie, quite in keeping with the general air of the man. His hands, large and coarse, were plentifully bedecked with rings; and he wore a heavy gold watch-chain, with a bundle of seals of portentous size, and a great [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] could manage to insinuate four people into it, all at one time; and entreating each other to observe how very airy it was (in dock ), and how there was a beautiful port-hole which could be kept open all day (weather permitting ), and how there was quite a large bull’s-eye just over the looking-glass which would render shaving a perfectly easy and delightful process (when the ship did n't [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] French officials is sufficiently contemptible; but there is a surly boorish incivility about our men, alike disgusting to all persons who fall into their hands, and discreditable to the nation that keeps such ill-conditioned curs snarling about its gates. (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] where everybody is a merchant, resides above his store; so that many occupations are often carried on in one house, and the whole front is covered with boards and inscriptions. As I walked along, I kept glancing up at these boards, confidently expecting to see a few of them change into something; and I never turned a corner suddenly without looking out for the clown and pantaloon, who, I had no [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] as I was busy loading stones into a cart, that young Mas’r Tom stood there, slashing his whip so near the horse that the creature was frightened. I asked him to stop, as pleasant as I could,—he just kept right on. I begged him again, and then he turned on me, and began striking me. I held his hand, and then he screamed and kicked and ran to his father, and told him that I was fighting him. He came [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] themselves to any useful pursuit, on that account ) are so often and so unexpectedly and summarily cut off, and reinstated, and cut off again, that the whole family, down to the remotest cousin, is kept in a perpetual fever. At length it becomes plain that the old lady or gentleman has not long to live; and the plainer this becomes, the more clearly the old lady or gentleman perceives that [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] is handsome, and smart, and bright ? I tell you, Eliza, that a sword will pierce through your soul for every good and pleasant thing your child is or has; it will make him worth too much for you to keep. ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] and their contents were discharged. But though sight and hearing were gone for ever, the poor child 's sufferings were not ended. The fever raged during seven weeks; for five months she was kept in bed in a darkened room; it was a year before she could walk unsupported, and two years before she could sit up all day. It was now observed that her sense of smell was almost entirely destroyed; [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] saying that I should like to see her write again, the teacher who sat beside her, bade her, in their language, sign her name upon a slip of paper, twice or thrice. In doing so, I observed that she kept her left hand always touching, and following up, her right, in which, of course, she held the pen. No line was indicated by any contrivance, but she wrote straight and freely. (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • “ I wonder what keeps Eliza, ” said Mrs. Shelby, after giving her bell repeated pulls, to no purpose. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • Okay. -[synthetic voice ] Warning... -Gotta keep pressure on it. I 'm working on it. (Runner)