English Collocations | Learn Vocabulary The SMART Way!

Well hey there, I'm Emma from mmmEnglish.

Today we're gonna bust out some awesome phrases

using 'keep'.

Now I know what you're thinking,

this is a really common English verb

but we're going to focus on accuracy today,

using these phrases correctly.

So we'll practise some common collocations,

words that are often used together with 'keep'.

And if you're wondering why that's a good idea,

it's a good idea to practise words together,

well, because learning words together in chunks

is going to help you to sound more natural

when you speak.

You'll be using words exactly as native speakers

do when they speak not as Google Translate tells you to,

which often sounds really unnatural and strange.

So everybody keep calm, stay focused.

You're about to learn fifteen common collocations

with 'keep'.

Now the verb 'keep' has two main uses.

Firstly, we use it to explain that

we have or we retain possession of something

and that's why it's often used with the noun 'secret'

or 'promise'.

So you need to retain possession of that secret, right?

And not share it with anyone else.

My friend just told me that she's pregnant

but she doesn't want anyone else to know yet.

I don't know how I'll keep it a secret!

Or we can say: I don't know how I'll keep her secret!

You said you'd arrive by Monday.

I just hope that you can keep your promise.

We need you here.

We also keep something safe

and this means to look after it, right?

To look after something.

When I was back home in Melbourne over Christmas,

my mum pulled out my primary school uniform.

She'd been keeping it safe all these years.

I had no idea.

Keep it somewhere safe

so you know where to find it when you need it/

Do you have something that you're keeping safe

right now?

See if you can use this expression and write a sentence

about it in the comments below.

What about 'keep in mind'

which has quite a literal meaning, you know.

You keep something in your mind, you remember it,

right, until you need it.

So when you get some helpful advice from someone

you can say: Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

Keep in mind that there are five vegetarians

coming for dinner

so we may need to prepare their meals separately.

Hopefully, you keep a few of these expressions

in mind so that you can use them later.

'Keep' can also mean to remain in a certain condition

or position which is why we always say:

Keep quiet!

Remain quiet.

Ben kept quiet while she explained what had happened.

And 'Keep away!'

'Keep away' means to stay or remain at that distance.

Keep away from the sand dunes,

there are snakes in there!

Now if you're advising someone or you're warning them,

you can use

'Keep your distance'

When the monkeys started fighting, the ranger told us

to keep our distance.

And of course, you can tell someone that you want to

remain in contact with them by saying: Keep in touch.

Keep in touch.

Now this is usually with someone who you don't

see very often and as you're leaving you might say:

Well, it was great bumping into you.

Let's keep in touch.

I shared a few extra examples about that expression

up here in this video, so you can check it out later.

'Keep up'

or 'keep up with' is a really handy phrasal verb,

especially if you're falling behind

and there's a couple of meanings.

You can use it when you're

falling behind in your understanding.

It's really hard to keep up with native speakers

when they speak at natural pace.

Or if you're walking with someone who's really slow,

you might say:

Come on, keep up!

They're physically far behind so you can use 'keep up'

in a physical sense as well.

Okay so there are a heap of expressions using 'keep'

that we use to help get organised and stay informed.

We keep track of things, we keep tabs on stuff.

We keep people posted and we keep up to date.

These are just a few.

So let's take a look at a few examples.

'To keep track of something' has

two different meanings actually,

depending on whether that something is a physical

object or it's information.

If it's a physical object, then keeping track of it

means that you know where it is.

I'm sorry, I am listening to you.

I'm just trying to keep track of where my kids have gone.

Now if you're not talking about a physical thing,

like your kids, then 'keeping track of it'

means that you're staying informed.

You've got up-to-date information

and it's really clear in your mind.

I use Google Calendar to keep track of all of my

appointments and meetings.

Is there anything in your life that you find difficult

to keep track of? Let me know about it in the comments.

Hey a super quick reminder to subscribe to my channel

if you haven't already.

If you have subscribed,

then let me know in the comments

because I like to keep track of

who my regular students are.

To keep tabs on someone or something,

it's similar to keeping track of them

but it means to watch something or someone carefully,

to monitor their activity, to keep an eye on things.

I try to keep tabs on my bank account

so that I don't spend too much.

If you're anything like me you like to feel organised

and you like to have everything under control.

Is that what you're like?

Anyway,

we can use 'keep with on top of' to say exactly that.

I like to keep on top of things, most often it's used in this

really general way with things.

But you can make it a little bit more specific by saying

something like:

I like to keep on top of all my admin tasks at work.

I do a little bit every day.

So as I said earlier we use 'keep' in expressions

when we want to have all of the information

about something.

For example, we like to keep up to date, don't we?

Some people read the news every morning

to keep up to date with world affairs.

Do you like to keep up to date with world affairs?

I do but I don't read the news every day.

Most of the time the stories feel like they're quite

negative, you know, all of the negative things

from around the world and I start feeling

really depressed.

But I have a friend who's a journalist and she usually

keeps me posted if there are any major stories breaking.

Now you can use this expression when you're letting

someone know that you'll give them updated

information as soon as you receive it.

It sounds a little bit formal right but this expression

can actually be used all of the time,

you know, if you're trying to organise dinner with friends

and one of them may need to work late

or they can't get a babysitter

and they're unsure if they can come, you could say:

No worries, but keep me posted.

I may need to change our booking.

A more formal way of saying this exact same thing is

'Keep me informed'.

So this expression is more appropriate in the workplace

and it's a little too formal to use with friends.

Talking about a product order for the clothing company

that you work for, you might say to your boss:

I'll make sure that you're kept informed

if there are any substantial changes

to the shipment or the delivery dates.

So you're letting your boss know

that you can deal with the problem

but you'll definitely update them and share

important information with them.

So did you keep up with me

all the way through this video?

I hope so! If not, never mind,

the brilliant thing about all of my lessons

here on YouTube is that you can go back

and watch them again at any time.

In fact, you can even go back and slow down

or increase the speed of the video which is super cool.

Now that we've been through fifteen expressions,

I'm setting you a little bit of homework.

I want you to try and use five of these expressions

together in a comment below this video.

So let me see that you're using them in ways

that are meaningful to you.

It's the best way to try and remember these expressions,

you know, and make them relevant to you.

How can you use them to talk about your daily life?

Now if you get in early, I'll be down there giving feedback

and checking that you're using

all of those expressions correctly.

If you're ready right now to keep going,

then head into this lesson right here

and I'll meet you in there. See you soon!