Study the phrasal verbs. Lead-in.

“Keep away from this good-for-nothing boy, I don’t like him,” Sheila’s mother told her.
“You’re always keeping me down! I never have a choice!” Sheila muttered.
Mike keeps on working for hours if nobody disturbs him.
So, he puts a “Keep out” sign on the door as he doesn’t want anybody to come in.


Jenny has become a veggie and she wants to keep it up.
She keeps off meat and dairy.
More phrasal verbs with KEEP …
keep away (from) | keep away from sb/ sth – avoid coming near sb/ sth: Keep away from me! she shouted. |
keep sb/ sth away from sb/ sth – stop sb/ sth from sth/ sb/ doing sth: Her mother tried to keep her away from that nasty person. | |
keep back | not say sth intentionally, to hide information: I think he is keeping sth back from me. |
not express feelings: They struggled to keep back their disappointment after they’d lost the match. | |
keep down | prevent sth/ sb from increasing, getting bigger: You’ll have to keep down your voice if you don’t want to be overheard. |
oppress sb so they can’t say what they think freely: You’re always keeping me down! I can’t say a word in your presence! | |
not vomit: Not feeling well, Karen couldn’t keep the food down in her stomach. | |
keep (oneself) from | not let oneself do sth: He could hardly keep himself from bursting into tears on hearing the news. |
keep off | avoid doing sth (e.g., eating, talking on some topics, approaching): Meg decided to become a vegetarian, she’s trying to keep off meat and fish. |
keep on | continue doing sth: Jack kept on working for hours without respite. |
keep out (of) | stay away from a place: Keep your hamsters out of my room – they might spread some disease! Don’t enter my room – keep out! It’s private property. |
keep up | continue doing sth at the same high level: We must keep up, otherwise we won’t meet the deadline of the project. |
maintain sth so it remains in good condition: The children did their best to keep up their parents’ house. | |
not let sb go to bed: Sorry for keeping you up at this late hour, but it’s an emergency. | |
keep up with | do sth at that same rate as sb else, stay at the same level as sb else: Old people find it hard to keep up with all changes that are taking place now. |
be informed, learn about current events, news: She finds it useful to keep up with the latest news. |