keep – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of keep

Nominal Forms

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

Cognates

-

Indicative

Present

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

Perfect

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

Past

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

Pluperfect

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

Future

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

Future Perfect

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

Subjunctive

Present

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

Perfect

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

Imperfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Conditional

Present

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

Perfect

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

Imperative

youkeep sth back
weLet's keep sth back
youkeep sth back

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

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

Perfect

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

Past

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

Pluperfect

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

Future

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

Future Perfect

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

Conditional

Present

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

Perfect

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

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)