keep – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of keep

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to keep sb from doing sth
Participle: kept sb from doing sth
Gerund: keeping sb from doing sth

Cognates

-

Indicative

Present

Ikeep sb from doing sth
youkeep sb from doing sth
he;she;itkeeps sb from doing sth
wekeep sb from doing sth
youkeep sb from doing sth
theykeep sb from doing sth

Perfect

Ihave kept sb from doing sth
youhave kept sb from doing sth
he;she;ithas kept sb from doing sth
wehave kept sb from doing sth
youhave kept sb from doing sth
theyhave kept sb from doing sth

Past

Ikept sb from doing sth
youkept sb from doing sth
he;she;itkept sb from doing sth
wekept sb from doing sth
youkept sb from doing sth
theykept sb from doing sth

Pluperfect

Ihad kept sb from doing sth
youhad kept sb from doing sth
he;she;ithad kept sb from doing sth
wehad kept sb from doing sth
youhad kept sb from doing sth
theyhad kept sb from doing sth

Future

Iwill keep sb from doing sth
youwill keep sb from doing sth
he;she;itwill keep sb from doing sth
wewill keep sb from doing sth
youwill keep sb from doing sth
theywill keep sb from doing sth

Future Perfect

Iwill have kept sb from doing sth
youwill have kept sb from doing sth
he;she;itwill have kept sb from doing sth
wewill have kept sb from doing sth
youwill have kept sb from doing sth
theywill have kept sb from doing sth

Subjunctive

Present

Ikeep sb from doing sth
youkeep sb from doing sth
he;she;itkeep sb from doing sth
wekeep sb from doing sth
youkeep sb from doing sth
theykeep sb from doing sth

Perfect

Ihave kept sb from doing sth
youhave kept sb from doing sth
he;she;ithave kept sb from doing sth
wehave kept sb from doing sth
youhave kept sb from doing sth
theyhave kept sb from doing sth

Imperfect

Ikept sb from doing sth
youkept sb from doing sth
he;she;itkept sb from doing sth
wekept sb from doing sth
youkept sb from doing sth
theykept sb from doing sth

Pluperfect

Ihad kept sb from doing sth
youhad kept sb from doing sth
he;she;ithad kept sb from doing sth
wehad kept sb from doing sth
youhad kept sb from doing sth
theyhad kept sb from doing sth

Conditional

Present

Iwould keep sb from doing sth
youwould keep sb from doing sth
he;she;itwould keep sb from doing sth
wewould keep sb from doing sth
youwould keep sb from doing sth
theywould keep sb from doing sth

Perfect

Iwould have kept sb from doing sth
youwould have kept sb from doing sth
he;she;itwould have kept sb from doing sth
wewould have kept sb from doing sth
youwould have kept sb from doing sth
theywould have kept sb from doing sth

Imperative

youkeep sb from doing sth
weLet's keep sb from doing sth
youkeep sb from doing sth

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Iam keeping sb from doing sth
youare keeping sb from doing sth
he;she;itis keeping sb from doing sth
weare keeping sb from doing sth
youare keeping sb from doing sth
theyare keeping sb from doing sth

Perfect

Ihave been keeping sb from doing sth
youhave been keeping sb from doing sth
he;she;ithas been keeping sb from doing sth
wehave been keeping sb from doing sth
youhave been keeping sb from doing sth
theyhave been keeping sb from doing sth

Past

Iwas keeping sb from doing sth
youwere keeping sb from doing sth
he;she;itwas keeping sb from doing sth
wewere keeping sb from doing sth
youwere keeping sb from doing sth
theywere keeping sb from doing sth

Pluperfect

Ihad been keeping sb from doing sth
youhad been keeping sb from doing sth
he;she;ithad been keeping sb from doing sth
wehad been keeping sb from doing sth
youhad been keeping sb from doing sth
theyhad been keeping sb from doing sth

Future

Iwill be keeping sb from doing sth
youwill be keeping sb from doing sth
he;she;itwill be keeping sb from doing sth
wewill be keeping sb from doing sth
youwill be keeping sb from doing sth
theywill be keeping sb from doing sth

Future Perfect

Iwill have been keeping sb from doing sth
youwill have been keeping sb from doing sth
he;she;itwill have been keeping sb from doing sth
wewill have been keeping sb from doing sth
youwill have been keeping sb from doing sth
theywill have been keeping sb from doing sth

Conditional

Present

Iwould be keeping sb from doing sth
youwould be keeping sb from doing sth
he;she;itwould be keeping sb from doing sth
wewould be keeping sb from doing sth
youwould be keeping sb from doing sth
theywould be keeping sb from doing sth

Perfect

Iwould have been keeping sb from doing sth
youwould have been keeping sb from doing sth
he;she;itwould have been keeping sb from doing sth
wewould have been keeping sb from doing sth
youwould have been keeping sb from doing sth
theywould have been keeping sb from doing sth

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)