Phrasal Verbs with KEEP: 90 English Phrases

Part 1. A2. Elementary.

Keep up: Not Falling Behind

I cannot keep up when people speak fast.
Please keep up, we are almost there.
Keep up the good work.
The lesson was fast and I did not keep up.
Can you keep up with the group?

Keep on: Carrying On Regardless

I keep on making the same mistake.
Just keep on going, do not stop.
She keeps on asking me about it.
My phone keeps on ringing today.
Why do you keep on saying sorry?

Keep in touch: Staying in Contact

Let us keep in touch.
I keep in touch with my old friends.
We did not keep in touch after school.
Write to me and we will keep in touch.
Do you keep in touch with your first teacher?

Keep someone waiting: Making People Wait

Sorry to keep you waiting.
The doctor kept us waiting for an hour.
I do not want to keep you waiting.
Please do not keep me waiting again.
Did they keep you waiting long?

Keep to: Sticking to the Plan

Let us keep to the plan.
I try to keep to my budget.
Keep to the path, please.
He never keeps to the time.
Can we keep to ten minutes?

Keep track of: Not Losing Sight of Things

I cannot keep track of my passwords.
Keep track of what you spend.
It is hard to keep track of time here.
She keeps track of every small payment.
I lose track of my tasks and then I cannot keep up.

Part 2. B1. Intermediate.

Keep up: Not Falling Behind

Once I lose track of my tasks, keeping up becomes impossible.
I still cannot keep up when people speak at normal speed.
Try to keep up, we are nearly at the top.
You have improved a lot, so keep up the good work.
Do you find it hard to keep up with the news?

Keep on: Carrying On Regardless

I have kept on making the same mistake for months.
Keep on going even when it feels pointless.
He kept on apologising although nobody was angry.
The neighbours keep on drilling, so I cannot concentrate.
Would you keep on studying if nobody checked your progress?

Keep in touch: Staying in Contact

We should keep in touch, it would be a shame not to.
I have kept in touch with two people from that course.
We used to keep in touch, but then life got busy.
Send me a message so that we can keep in touch.
Have you managed to keep in touch with anyone from school?

Keep someone waiting: Making People Wait

Sorry to keep you waiting, the bus never turned up.
They have kept us waiting for nearly an hour already.
I would hate to keep you waiting, so I left early.
He kept me waiting although he had promised to be early.
How long are they going to keep us waiting?

Keep to: Sticking to the Plan

We should keep to the plan, even if it feels slow.
I have been trying to keep to my budget since January.
Keep to the main path, because the side one gets muddy.
She rarely keeps to the agenda, so meetings run late.
Could we keep to twenty minutes if that is possible?

Keep track of: Not Losing Sight of Things

I have never been able to keep track of my passwords.
You should keep track of what you spend for one month.
I used to keep track of everything in a paper notebook.
Have you found a good way to keep track of your tasks?
When I lose track of the week, I stop keeping up entirely.

Part 3. B2. Upper-Intermediate.

Keep up: Not Falling Behind

Had I not lost track of the week, I would have kept up.
I would keep up easily if people did not swallow their endings.
Keep up if you can, we would have been there by now.
Having kept up all morning, I was completely worn out by lunch.
Would you rather slow down than have everyone keep up with you?

Keep on: Carrying On Regardless

I had kept on making that mistake until someone finally corrected me.
Keep on going, you would have given up long ago otherwise.
Having kept on apologising, he only made the silence more awkward.
The neighbours have been drilling since seven and they keep on going.
I would rather stop now than keep on pretending that it works.

Keep in touch: Staying in Contact

We ought to keep in touch, although we both know how that goes.
I have been keeping in touch with her since we met in Lisbon.
Had we kept in touch, I would have known about the wedding.
Keeping in touch takes effort that nobody warns you about.
I would rather keep in touch properly than send empty birthday messages.

Keep someone waiting: Making People Wait

Sorry to keep you waiting, I would have made it but for the bus.
We had been kept waiting so long that we simply walked out.
I would not dream of keeping you waiting after what happened last time.
Being kept waiting without an apology is what annoys me most.
Would you rather be kept waiting or told the truth straight away?

Keep to: Sticking to the Plan

We had better keep to the plan, or we will regret improvising.
Had I kept to my budget, I would not be counting coins now.
Keeping to a schedule has never been my strong point, honestly.
The meeting would have ended on time if she had kept to the agenda.
I would rather keep to a short list than promise everything.

Keep track of: Not Losing Sight of Things

I would keep track of my passwords if any system actually worked.
Having kept track of my spending for a month, I was shocked.
Time is easily lost track of when every day looks the same.
I had been keeping track of it all until the file disappeared.
Would you rather keep track of everything or let small things go?

All Three Levels Side by Side

I cannot keep up when people speak fast.
I still cannot keep up when people speak at normal speed.
I would keep up easily if people did not swallow their endings.

I keep on making the same mistake.
I have kept on making the same mistake for months.
I had kept on making that mistake until someone finally corrected me.

Let us keep in touch.
We should keep in touch, it would be a shame not to.
We ought to keep in touch, although we both know how that goes.

Sorry to keep you waiting.
Sorry to keep you waiting, the bus never turned up.
Sorry to keep you waiting, I would have made it but for the bus.

Let us keep to the plan.
We should keep to the plan, even if it feels slow.
We had better keep to the plan, or we will regret improvising.

I cannot keep track of my passwords.
I have never been able to keep track of my passwords.
I would keep track of my passwords if any system actually worked.