We haven\u2019t done vocabulary in a while. Today, we\u2019ll talk about the topic that everybody loves to hate: phrasal verbs. To be specific, we\u2019ll be dealing with phrasal verbs involving the word \u201ckeep.\u201d The trick with phrasal verbs is knowing the context in which they can be used, since many of them are only appropriate in conversation and informal writing. I\u2019ll help you out with this by telling you a little about the situations in which each verb may be appropriate, and giving you some equivalent expressions for times when it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n
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Have you ever heard the saying, \u201cKeep on keeping on \u2018til you can\u2019t keep on no more\u201d? In terms of ungrammaticality it\u2019s kind of a doozie, but the meaning is probably clear: continue until you can\u2019t continue anymore.<\/p>\n
If you keep on interrupting me, I\u2019ll never finish my story.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cKeep on\u201d is informal, so here are some more academic alternatives: continue, carry on, persevere<\/p>\n
A secondary use of this phrase is to keep on someone, meaning to continually remind them. It\u2019s even less formal than \u201ckeep on,\u201d so in the context of an essay, replace it with one of these words: remind, pester (negative connotation), badger (negative connotation)<\/p>\n
He\u2019s forgetful, so if you want him to get it done on time, you\u2019ll have to keep on him about it.<\/i><\/p>\n
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Often, \u201ckeep up\u201d is similar in meaning to \u201ckeep on,\u201d except that while \u201ckeep on\u201d is followed by a present participle, \u201ckeep up\u201d is followed by a noun. \u201cKeep up\u201d is generally the same as \u201cmaintain.\u201d In fact, another word for maintenance is \u201cupkeep.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keep up the good work!<\/i><\/p>\n
Old houses may look charming, but I don\u2019t have time for all the upkeep owning one would require.<\/i><\/p>\n
You can also keep up with<\/i> something or someone, which means either that you are staying next to them and not falling behind, or that you follow what\u2019s going on with them.<\/p>\n
They quit running together because he had such a hard time keeping up with her.<\/i><\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t hear about her promotion until much later because I don\u2019t really keep up with her anymore.<\/i><\/p>\n
I read the newspaper every day because I think it\u2019s important to keep up with current events.<\/i><\/p>\n
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If you keep to something, you remain faithful to it. You can write or say this on the TOEFL, although it\u2019s on the informal side. A slightly less formal equivalent would be \u201cstick to.\u201d\u00a0 Although you shouldn\u2019t use \u201cstick to\u201d on the exam, it\u2019s a very useful phrase in conversation. A more academic synonym would be \u201cadhere to.\u201d<\/p>\n
If we keep to the plan, everything will turn out fine.<\/i><\/p>\n
Even as the world changed around him, my grandfather kept to the traditional lifestyle of his youth. <\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We haven\u2019t done vocabulary in a while. Today, we\u2019ll talk about the topic that everybody loves to hate: phrasal verbs. To be specific, we\u2019ll be dealing with phrasal verbs involving the word \u201ckeep.\u201d The trick with phrasal verbs is knowing the context in which they can be used, since many of them are only appropriate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13604],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[13632],"class_list":["post-177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vocab"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n