The verb "keep" has many meanings: stay, store, continue, maintain, and prevent. With the addition of a preposition, this word changes its meaning very easily.
1. When Sylvia travels, she can keep up with her work by using a laptop computer.
She keeps in touch with her coworkers through email.
(idiom: keep in touch = email, write, call; communicate)
2. Mother kangaroos keep their babies in a pouch on their stomach.
3. The people in the audience couldn’t keep themselves from laughing as they listened to the comedian perform his act.
4. She keeps going out with her boyfriend even though he isn’t very nice to her.
("Keep" is often followed by a gerund. In this case, the gerund is "going out.")
5. Many Americans keep using credit cards to make purchases even though this habit can cause financial problems later.
6. This grocery store needs to keep its shopping carts outside because there’s no room inside the store.
7. She had been keeping her cell phone in her purse, but now she keeps it in her front pocket.
8. A: Where does he keep his money?
B: He keeps it in a piggy bank. It was being kept in a bank, but then he decided to keep it at home.
Keep
present tense: keep / keeps
past tense: kept
future: will keep
present continuous: am / is / are / keeping
past continuous: was / were keeping
future continuous: will be keeping
present perfect: has / have kept
past perfect: had kept
future perfect: will have kept
present perfect continuous: has / have been keeping
