to keep — English conjugation

Frequency#31Irregular

Indicative

Present (Simple Present) Irregular

The simple present describes habitual actions, general truths, and states. It is the most basic tense in English. For most verbs, add -s or -es for the third person singular (he, she, it).

She speaks three languages.

PronounEnglish
Ikeep
youkeep
he/she/itkeeps
wekeep
you (pl.)keep
theykeep

Past (Simple Past) Irregular

The simple past describes completed actions at a specific time in the past. Regular verbs add -ed. There are around 200 common irregular verbs with unique past forms that must be learned individually.

She spoke to the manager yesterday.

PronounEnglish
Ikept
youkept
he/she/itkept
wekept
you (pl.)kept
theykept

Present continuous (Present Continuous) Irregular

The present continuous describes actions happening right now or temporary situations. Formed with am/is/are + verb-ing. Also used for definite future arrangements.

She is speaking to a client at the moment.

PronounEnglish
Iam keeping
youare keeping
he/she/itis keeping
weare keeping
you (pl.)are keeping
theyare keeping

Past continuous (Past Continuous) Irregular

The past continuous describes actions that were in progress at a specific moment in the past, often interrupted by another event. Formed with was/were + verb-ing.

She was speaking when the fire alarm went off.

PronounEnglish
Iwas keeping
youwere keeping
he/she/itwas keeping
wewere keeping
you (pl.)were keeping
theywere keeping

Present perfect (Present Perfect) Irregular

The present perfect connects the past to the present. It describes experiences, recent events, or situations that started in the past and continue now. Formed with have/has + past participle.

She has spoken at over fifty conferences.

PronounEnglish
Ihave kept
youhave kept
he/she/ithas kept
wehave kept
you (pl.)have kept
theyhave kept

Past perfect (Past Perfect) Irregular

The past perfect describes an action completed before another past event — the past of the past. Formed with had + past participle. Always implies a reference point in the past.

She had spoken to him before the meeting started.

PronounEnglish
Ihad kept
youhad kept
he/she/ithad kept
wehad kept
you (pl.)had kept
theyhad kept

Future (will) (Future Simple) Irregular

The future simple expresses predictions, spontaneous decisions, and promises. Formed with will + base infinitive. The contracted form will not = won't is very common in spoken English.

She will speak at the conference tomorrow.

PronounEnglish
Iwill keep
youwill keep
he/she/itwill keep
wewill keep
you (pl.)will keep
theywill keep

Future continuous (Future Continuous) Irregular

The future continuous describes an action that will be in progress at a specific future moment. Formed with will be + verb-ing. Often used to describe planned or expected ongoing actions.

This time tomorrow she will be speaking to the board.

PronounEnglish
Iwill be keeping
youwill be keeping
he/she/itwill be keeping
wewill be keeping
you (pl.)will be keeping
theywill be keeping

Future perfect (Future Perfect) Irregular

The future perfect describes an action that will be completed before a specific point in the future. Formed with will have + past participle. Common with time expressions like by then, by the time.

By Friday she will have spoken to all the clients.

PronounEnglish
Iwill have kept
youwill have kept
he/she/itwill have kept
wewill have kept
you (pl.)will have kept
theywill have kept

Subjunctive

Conditional (would) (Conditional) Irregular

The conditional describes hypothetical situations and their results. Formed with would + base infinitive. Used in if-clauses, polite requests, and reported speech about future events.

She would speak more if she had the chance.

PronounEnglish
Iwould keep
youwould keep
he/she/itwould keep
wewould keep
you (pl.)would keep
theywould keep