Phrasal verb
Keep it down
Is keep it down rude like shut up?
Keep it down means to speak more softly or make less noise. It asks people to lower their general sound level while continuing what they are doing.
Key points
- Use keep it down when people are making too much general noise and need to lower their volume.
- Add polite openers like could you or would you mind in shared work or study spaces.
- For audio equipment, choose turn down, and use the past form kept it down when describing quiet behavior.
Can you use "Keep it down" yourself?
This lesson has 5 stages. You can stop at any time and continue later.
Stage 1 of 5
Understand
What it means, when to use it, and mistakes to avoid.
Examples
Could you keep it down while Marcus is on the phone?
Why it works: The speaker uses could you to make the request gentle while Marcus finishes a call.
2 more examples
-
The apartment manager asked the tenants to keep it down after ten o'clock.
This reports an earlier instruction about noise in an apartment building.
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We kept it down so we would not wake our sleeping host.
The past form kept it down shows that the guests successfully lowered their volume.
Read the full guide
Deciding when to request lower noise
People often need quiet to concentrate, study, or rest. When you tell someone to stop talking entirely, you may sound hostile or confrontational. The phrase keep it down solves this social problem by asking people to reduce their volume while still letting them continue their conversation. The pronoun it does not point to a physical object on the table. Instead, it refers to the general ambient noise in the room or building. You use this request when people are speaking or laughing too loudly, rather than when you need total silence.
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We have an online interview in ten minutes, so please keep it down.
Why it works: This gives a clear reason before asking someone to lower their volume.
-
The study hall rules require visitors to keep it down.
Why it works: This states an expectation about sound level in a shared space.
Your turn
What are you asking someone to do when you say 'keep it down'?
Answer: Reduce their current noise level to a reasonable volume.
Show the answer
Answer: Reduce their current noise level to a reasonable volume.
The expression asks people to reduce how loudly they are speaking or acting, not to stop completely.
Softening the phrase for polite situations
A bare command like keep it down sounds blunt and often suggests irritation or anger. In most professional and social settings, adult speakers add polite frames to protect working relationships. You can place could you or would you mind before the phrase, or add please at the beginning or end of your sentence. Changing your tone and sentence structure turns an aggressive command into a cooperative everyday request. Smiling slightly and keeping your voice gentle also reinforces that you are asking for cooperation rather than criticizing someone.
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Could you keep it down for a moment while I answer this client?
Why it works: Could you softens the request for a temporary quiet period.
-
Would you mind keeping it down while the baby naps?
Why it works: Would you mind requires the -ing form keeping it down.
This also comes up in Noise complaint and Killer asteroids.
Your turn
Which option makes the request sound polite rather than annoyed?
Answer: Could you keep it down, please?
Show the answer
Answer: Could you keep it down, please?
Adding could you and please softens the request so it sounds friendly and respectful.
Choosing between it and a named noun
While keep it down is a fixed phrase, English also allows you to replace the pronoun it with a specific noun phrase. If several people are speaking loudly during a presentation, you might ask them to keep their voices down. If background music or foot traffic causes disruption, you can ask someone to keep the noise down. The structure remains keep plus noun phrase plus down. Using a specific noun clarifies exactly what sound needs to be reduced, which helps listeners understand your request without confusion.
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Please keep your voices down in the corridor near the patient rooms.
Why it works: Using your voices specifies the human speech that needs to be quieter.
-
The building supervisor reminded everyone to keep the noise down.
Why it works: The noise down covers both talking and other physical sounds.
Your turn
Which sentence correctly replaces 'it' with a specific noun?
Answer: Please keep your voices down during the call.
Show the answer
Answer: Please keep your voices down during the call.
The specific noun phrase goes between keep and down without extra prepositions.
Distinguishing keep it down from turn it down
Learners sometimes confuse keep it down with turn it down. Use turn it down when you want someone to adjust a physical dial or electronic volume control, such as on a television, car radio, or computer speaker. Use keep it down when people are laughing, talking loudly, moving furniture, or creating general human noise. Choosing the correct verb tells the listener whether to adjust a machine setting or modify their personal volume. Mixing up these expressions can sound unnatural, so identify the source of the sound first.
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Can you turn the television down before you join our discussion?
Why it works: Turn down is used because the volume setting on a device is being adjusted.
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The children were laughing loudly, so their father asked them to keep it down.
Why it works: Keep it down applies to human laughter and general voice levels.
Your turn
A coworker has a loud podcast playing on a desk speaker. Which phrase is most accurate?
Answer: Could you turn the podcast down?
Show the answer
Answer: Could you turn the podcast down?
Podcasts and audio devices have volume controls, so English speakers use turn down.
Using kept it down to describe past actions
When you want to describe an action that already finished, change the irregular verb keep to kept. The pronoun it and the particle down stay in their exact positions. Saying that guests kept it down means they behaved quietly and maintained a low volume throughout an event or visit. This phrasing indicates that people respected the quiet environment, even if they continued to converse or celebrate. You can use kept it down in personal stories, workplace updates, or formal tenant reports.
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The students kept it down while the neighboring class completed a test.
Why it works: Kept it down reports that the students successfully controlled their volume.
-
We were grateful that the workers kept it down during our morning call.
Why it works: This describes cooperative behavior in the past.
Your turn
Choose the correct past-tense sentence.
Answer: The roommates kept it down until morning.
Show the answer
Answer: The roommates kept it down until morning.
Keep is an irregular verb with the past form kept, and the pronoun it must remain.
Catching the connected sounds in natural speech
In casual spoken English, speakers rarely pronounce keep it down as three isolated words. The consonant p at the end of keep links smoothly into the vowel sound of it, creating a joined syllable that sounds like kee-pit. The letter t in it often becomes an unreleased stop or a quick flap right before the d in down. Recognizing these smooth acoustic connections helps you catch the phrase instantly even when people speak quickly. Notice also that the primary stress almost always lands on the word down.
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Hey, keep it down out there!
Why it works: In fast speech, keep and it flow together with the stress landing on down.
-
They told us to keep it down.
Why it works: The voice drops on to keep it before rising slightly on down.
Your turn
How do native speakers typically pronounce 'keep it down' in connected speech?
Answer: They link the p sound to the vowel, sounding like kee-pit down.
Show the answer
Answer: They link the p sound to the vowel, sounding like kee-pit down.
Consonants link to following vowels in natural English speech, joining keep and it.
Avoiding common word order and pronoun errors
Two frequent errors occur when English learners use this idiom. First, some speakers omit the pronoun it, saying simply keep down. Without the pronoun, keep down means to stay low to the ground or duck to avoid physical danger. Second, some place the pronoun after the particle, saying keep down it. In English phrasal verbs, pronoun objects must sit between the verb and the particle. Remembering this strict word order prevents confusing mistakes and ensures your listener understands that you are discussing volume.
-
Keep it down so we do not bother our neighbors.
Why it works: The pronoun it correctly sits between the verb keep and the particle down.
-
The soldiers were told to keep down behind the wall.
Why it works: Without it, keep down means to stay physically crouched or low.
Your turn
Which sentence contains a grammatical error with this phrasal verb?
Answer: They tried to keep down it during the speech.
Show the answer
Answer: They tried to keep down it during the speech.
Pronouns cannot follow the particle down; it must sit directly after keep.
Writing practical messages about quiet hours
Written messages about noise require balanced phrasing to avoid causing offense among roommates or colleagues. When writing a quick note to a flatmate or posting a reminder in a shared office channel, describe the situation first and follow with a respectful request. Mentioning why you need quiet, such as an upcoming client presentation, exam preparation, or an early morning shift, encourages cooperation. This structure shows respect for other people while making your practical need for quiet clear and reasonable.
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I have an early meeting tomorrow morning, so please keep it down after ten.
Why it works: The note explains the reason before requesting quiet at night.
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We have clients in the conference room, so let us keep it down out here.
Why it works: Let us creates a shared team responsibility rather than targeting one person.
Your turn
What is an effective strategy when requesting quiet in a text message?
Answer: Provide a brief context or reason alongside a polite request.
Show the answer
Answer: Provide a brief context or reason alongside a polite request.
Giving a clear reason makes the request understandable and invites cooperation.
Questions about "Keep it down"
Is keep it down rude like shut up?
No, keep it down is far less aggressive than shut up. While shut up commands someone to cease talking completely and often expresses strong anger, keep it down simply requests a lower sound level. However, saying keep it down with a sharp voice can still sound irritable. Adding could you or please ensures your request sounds polite and professional.
Could you keep it down, please? We are trying to read.
Telling someone to shut up will often cause an argument, while asking them to keep it down encourages cooperation.
What is the difference between keep it down and turn it down?
Turn it down refers to reducing the volume on a machine or media device, such as a television, car stereo, or phone speaker. Keep it down applies to human behavior, such as speaking, shouting, laughing, or moving around noisily. If someone is watching a loud video without headphones, you can tell them to turn it down, but if they are talking loudly on the phone, ask them to keep it down.
Please turn down the stereo so we can talk.
Please keep it down while grandma is resting in the other room.
Can I omit the word it and just say keep down?
No, you must include the pronoun it when talking about noise. Keep down without an object has a completely different meaning: it describes physically crouching or ducking to avoid being seen or hit by something dangerous. To ask for quiet, the pronoun it is mandatory because it represents the ambient sound.
The hikers kept down behind the rocks during the heavy wind.
The students kept it down throughout the afternoon study period.
Does keep something down have any other meanings in English?
Yes, the phrase has two other common meanings depending on the context. In healthcare and illness, to keep food or water down means to retain it in your stomach without vomiting. In business and economics, keeping costs down means preventing expenses from rising. When used on its own in social situations, it almost always refers to noise.
He was so sick that he could barely keep any soup down.
The company adopted new software to keep operating expenses down.
Before you go
Remember this
Use keep it down when people are making too much general noise and need to lower their volume. Add polite openers like could you or would you mind in shared work or study spaces. For audio equipment, choose turn down, and use the past form kept it down when describing quiet behavior.
Stage 2 of 5
Listen
Hear it in real sentences, from short to long, and write what you hear.
0 of 4 done
Listening 1 of 4
Listen, then type what you hear. Replay as often as you need.
0:00
- The apartment manager asked the tenants to keep it down after ten o'clock.
- We kept it down so we would not wake our sleeping host.
Read the transcript
Please keep it down, because our manager is speaking on an important call.
Please softens the request, and the fixed phrase keep it down asks the listener to lower their voice while the manager is talking.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
Listening 2 of 4
Listen, then type what you hear. Replay as often as you need.
0:00
- The apartment manager asked the tenants to keep it down after ten o'clock.
- We kept it down so we would not wake our sleeping host.
Read the transcript
You should keep it down until morning, so our neighbors can rest peacefully.
Should offers advice, and keep it down until morning sets a clear timeframe for maintaining a low volume.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The final t or d is barely said before the next consonant.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The final t or d is barely said before the next consonant.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The final t or d is barely said before the next consonant.
Try a longer clip. Listen once, then replay the part you missed.
Listening 3 of 4
Listen, then type what you hear. Replay as often as you need.
0:00
- The apartment manager asked the tenants to keep it down after ten o'clock.
- We kept it down so we would not wake our sleeping host.
Read the transcript
Could you keep it down in this area? Other people are preparing for exams, because noise travels easily through our open hallway.
Could you keeps the request professional, and in this area narrows the request to the immediate shared space.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
This clip is longer. Follow the instruction above the answer field.
Listening 4 of 4
Listen, then type the missing words. The rest of the text is already there.
0:00
- The apartment manager asked the tenants to keep it down after ten o'clock.
- We kept it down so we would not wake our sleeping host.
Read the transcript
Our study group met late in the kitchen, but we kept it down until our roommates finished resting before morning classes. We whispered our questions, avoided slamming any cupboard doors, and washed our coffee mugs without clattering. In the end, everyone slept peacefully, and our group solved all the practice problems before midnight.
Kept it down uses the past tense of keep to describe how the students maintained a quiet environment throughout their study session.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
Listen for
At natural speed these words change shape. Tap one to hear it again.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
- The last sound of the first word runs straight into the next word.
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Please keep it down, because our manager is speaking on an important call.
Play the line slowly, then speak at the same time as the speaker. Copy the rhythm, not just the words.
Your turn
Say it your way
Describe a situation at work, school, or home where people were making too much noise, and explain how you would politely ask them to keep it down.
Use: keep it down
You could start with “Excuse me, could you keep it down for a little while?…”
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