keep – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of keep

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to keep sb in
Participle: kept sb in
Gerund: keeping sb in

Cognates

-

Indicative

Present

Ikeep sb in
youkeep sb in
he;she;itkeeps sb in
wekeep sb in
youkeep sb in
theykeep sb in

Perfect

Ihave kept sb in
youhave kept sb in
he;she;ithas kept sb in
wehave kept sb in
youhave kept sb in
theyhave kept sb in

Past

Ikept sb in
youkept sb in
he;she;itkept sb in
wekept sb in
youkept sb in
theykept sb in

Pluperfect

Ihad kept sb in
youhad kept sb in
he;she;ithad kept sb in
wehad kept sb in
youhad kept sb in
theyhad kept sb in

Future

Iwill keep sb in
youwill keep sb in
he;she;itwill keep sb in
wewill keep sb in
youwill keep sb in
theywill keep sb in

Future Perfect

Iwill have kept sb in
youwill have kept sb in
he;she;itwill have kept sb in
wewill have kept sb in
youwill have kept sb in
theywill have kept sb in

Subjunctive

Present

Ikeep sb in
youkeep sb in
he;she;itkeep sb in
wekeep sb in
youkeep sb in
theykeep sb in

Perfect

Ihave kept sb in
youhave kept sb in
he;she;ithave kept sb in
wehave kept sb in
youhave kept sb in
theyhave kept sb in

Imperfect

Ikept sb in
youkept sb in
he;she;itkept sb in
wekept sb in
youkept sb in
theykept sb in

Pluperfect

Ihad kept sb in
youhad kept sb in
he;she;ithad kept sb in
wehad kept sb in
youhad kept sb in
theyhad kept sb in

Conditional

Present

Iwould keep sb in
youwould keep sb in
he;she;itwould keep sb in
wewould keep sb in
youwould keep sb in
theywould keep sb in

Perfect

Iwould have kept sb in
youwould have kept sb in
he;she;itwould have kept sb in
wewould have kept sb in
youwould have kept sb in
theywould have kept sb in

Imperative

youkeep sb in
weLet's keep sb in
youkeep sb in

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Iam keeping sb in
youare keeping sb in
he;she;itis keeping sb in
weare keeping sb in
youare keeping sb in
theyare keeping sb in

Perfect

Ihave been keeping sb in
youhave been keeping sb in
he;she;ithas been keeping sb in
wehave been keeping sb in
youhave been keeping sb in
theyhave been keeping sb in

Past

Iwas keeping sb in
youwere keeping sb in
he;she;itwas keeping sb in
wewere keeping sb in
youwere keeping sb in
theywere keeping sb in

Pluperfect

Ihad been keeping sb in
youhad been keeping sb in
he;she;ithad been keeping sb in
wehad been keeping sb in
youhad been keeping sb in
theyhad been keeping sb in

Future

Iwill be keeping sb in
youwill be keeping sb in
he;she;itwill be keeping sb in
wewill be keeping sb in
youwill be keeping sb in
theywill be keeping sb in

Future Perfect

Iwill have been keeping sb in
youwill have been keeping sb in
he;she;itwill have been keeping sb in
wewill have been keeping sb in
youwill have been keeping sb in
theywill have been keeping sb in

Conditional

Present

Iwould be keeping sb in
youwould be keeping sb in
he;she;itwould be keeping sb in
wewould be keeping sb in
youwould be keeping sb in
theywould be keeping sb in

Perfect

Iwould have been keeping sb in
youwould have been keeping sb in
he;she;itwould have been keeping sb in
wewould have been keeping sb in
youwould have been keeping sb in
theywould have been keeping sb in

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)