keep – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of keep

Nominal Forms

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

Cognates

-

Indicative

Present

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

Perfect

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

Past

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

Pluperfect

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

Future

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

Future Perfect

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

Subjunctive

Present

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

Perfect

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

Imperfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Conditional

Present

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

Perfect

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

Imperative

youkeep sth in
weLet's keep sth in
youkeep sth in

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

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

Perfect

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

Past

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

Pluperfect

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

Future

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

Future Perfect

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

Conditional

Present

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

Perfect

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