English Vocabulary Boost: 10 “KEEP” imperatives for daily life

Hey, keep it down over there. I'm recording a video. Thank you. Some

people. Hey, everyone. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson

on: "Ten Common Imperatives with the Verb 'Keep'". So, in this lesson, I will

give you some useful language that you can use in conversation; and what you

can recognize when you see it in film, if you hear it in a song, or in a series

that you're watching. So, this is all very useful language. "Keep" is one of

the most common verbs that English speakers use to make commands and

imperatives, as you will see shortly. So, first: "Keep going". So, "to keep

going" means that you are encouraging someone to continue or to keep moving

forward. So, this can have a couple of different contexts. Number one: If

you're in a line, and someone in front of you is playing on their phone, and

the line is moving; they're not moving — you can say: "Excuse me. Keep going".

Like: "Keep moving". Okay? Like: "Don't stop; keep mo-... keep going; keep

moving". You can also be watching sports on TV and be yelling at your TV, for,

you know... if someone is playing soccer, and they're getting closer to

the net, you can say: "Keep going, keep going, keep going!" Don't stop; keep

moving forward; keep continuing to do what you are doing.

Next: "Keep trying". So, this means: Continue making an effort. You are

probably familiar with this one. It just means: Don't stop doing what you're

doing; keep making an effort. Another imperative with "keep" that has a very

similar meaning is: "Keep at it". So, "keep at it" — it means: Don't give up;

continue making an effort. So, these two are linked: "Keep trying" or "Keep at

it". Okay? "Keep trying. You're not going to improve on the piano or the

guitar if you just give up. Keep trying; keep at it — you will improve." Just

like with your studying English. "Keep at it. Keep trying. Don't give up; you

will get it." Next... the next two are actually very similar as well. "Keep

quiet". Okay? So, this means: Stay silent. If you are a parent, this is a

very useful imperative. I have nothing to say or nothing to add to that. Yeah,

just... I say it a lot. Probably too much. All right? So: "Keep quiet",

means, like: Stay silent. "Daddy's on the phone. Okay? So, keep quiet". Or:

"Keep it down". Now, "Keep it down" — this means to keep the volume down; keep

the volume low, or to stay silent; become silent. "Keep it down" means

become completely silent; or, like: "Reduce the volume, please." Okay?

"You're too loud; keep it down". All right.

Next: "Keep it to yourself". Okay? So, this means: Don't tell anyone. Shh. It's

a secret. Okay? So, if your friend comes up to you and says: -"Hey. Did you hear

about Barbara? Pss, pss, pss, pss, pss, pss, pss." -"What? Barbara?" -"Shh, shh,

shh, shh, shh, shh. Keep it to yourself, okay? Don't tell anyone." Now, this

imperative can also be a little rude if you are, you know... talking to someone

or someone is talking to you, and they're very excited to tell you

something, but you don't care about what they're saying or you don't want to hear

what they're saying — either because you have no patience or there isn't enough

time — you can say: "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Keep it to

yourself. Nobody wants to hear this right now. Okay? So, just keep it to

yourself." You keep it inside your, you know... inside your mind, inside your

heart. No one needs to hear this or no one wants to hear this right now. So:

"Shh. Keep it to yourself" — it's a secret. Or: "Keep it to yourself" —

nobody cares. It's a little rude, but it's possible. Okay, next. Where are we?

Ah, there. "Keep your chin up. Okay. So, how... and what kind of body language do

you use if you are feeling negative, or down, or sad? Right? Some people, if

you're sad, your chin is probably down; your eyes are looking at the ground, and

you're not feeling great. If someone tells you to "keep your chin up", it

means: Try to stay positive. Okay? So, for example, if you recently got out of

a relationship, and your friends are trying to encourage you, and you're

saying: "I will never find someone. Oh, Stephanie. I love you and miss you so

much, Stephanie, why?" And your friends say: "Buddy, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,

whoa. Keep your chin up. Okay? Try to stay positive. She wasn't good for you.

You can do better than Stephanie. In fact, don't think about Stephanie

again." Okay? I'm going to go call Stephanie now. I don't know a Stephanie.

So: "Keep your chin up" — try to stay positive; it's not the end of the world.

Okay? Maybe Stephanie will come back one day.

So, next. Very common. If you are watching this and we are still in the

midst of a pandemic, regardless of, you know... when you're... when you're

watching this, and if COVID-19 is still making the world a different place right

now: "Keep your distance". This means: Stay away. So, here in Canada, the rule

is to keep a two-meter distance from people who are, you know... keep

social... keep your social distance means stay away a certain, you know...

length of time; not, like, length of time. Length of space. Yeah. You know

what I mean. "Keep your distance" — stay away. And, finally: "Keep the change".

So: "Keep the change" means: Don't give me the change; you keep it. If you pay

for something and that thing costs 50 cents — you only have one dollar —

that's a lot of change, actually. That's, like, 100%. Okay? Profit. So, if

it costs 50 cents; you only have one dollar — you say: "Yep. Here's a dollar.

I'm going to buy this" — if it's a bag of chips, or a chocolate bar, or

something — and you say: "That's okay. Keep the change." Okay? Don't give me

back the extra 50 cents that you're supposed to give me for, you know... the

thing I just bought. All right? And if you have ever seen the movie: "Home

Alone", you might remember the line in the movie, where they're watching... or

Kevin McAllister is watching this gangster movie and the guy, like, starts

shooting the guy on the outside. And once he, you know... kills him... think

it's Snakes. Snakes is the guy that shoots. Or Snakes is the guy that

shoots. Anyway, he goes: "Keep the change, you filthy animal." Right?

"Filthy" means, like, dirty. So, like: You dirty animal. Anyway, go watch:

"Home Alone". It's an all-time classic, even though it has elder abuse and other

problematic aspects to it, but it's a holiday classic. Haven't shown it to my

kids. Not sure if I will anytime soon. They're a little young for the violence

and the stuff. Back to "keep". That's what we were talking about, right?

So, one more time to review; and this time, I want you to practice the

pronunciation. Put your heart and soul into it. Let me feel you commanding it

with the imperatives that I'm going to give you. So, repeat after me. I don't

care if you're on the bus. Okay? Just do it. Just do it; scare people. Maybe

you'll... you'll make a friend. So: "Keep going", "keep trying", "keep at

it", "keep it up", "shh, keep quiet", "keep it down", "keep it to yourself",

"keep your chin up". This is your chin, right? "Keep your chin up", "keep your

distance", "keep the change, you filthy animal". Not you; I was just quoting the

movie. So, please don't take that the wrong way. And you know what? Because

this is a long video... did I do: "Keep it up"? I'm not sure if I did. So, just

in case I didn't: "Keep it up" means to continue in the same way. So, if you're

doing well or someone is doing well at something, and you want to encourage

them to keep going in the same way, you say: "Keep it up. Good job". Continue in

the same way. And just like you're keeping it up and... and you're...

bababa. Give me a moment. Brain reset. There we go. Just like you're keeping it

up and you are practicing your English on a regular daily basis. So, good job

and you keep that up. Till next time. Don't forget to check out the quiz on

www.engvid.com so you can test your understanding of all of this material.

Check out our videos; we have other stuff that, like, you know... covers the

full range of English knowledge, grammar, vocabulary, listening, writing,

phrasal verbs, idioms — anything you can think of, we probably have it. And if

you really enjoy what we do on the site, please consider making a donation. We

always appreciate every single donation that we receive. And thank you so much.

I am very grateful to you guys. So, till next time. If you're watching this on

YouTube: Subscribe, like, share, comments — all that good stuff. Until

next time, thanks for clicking. Bye.