Phrasal verb
Keep up
What does keep up mean?
Keep up means moving or progressing at the same speed as someone or something else so that you do not fall behind. When you add with, it connects your pace to another person, incoming information, or a continuous schedule of tasks. In a separate maintenance pattern, keep something up means continuing an action, standard, or effort over time.
Key points
- Choose keep up alone when the pace is obvious.
- Use keep up with when naming the person, information, or workload you are following.
- Use keep something up or keep it up to maintain a level or habit.
Can you use "Keep up" 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
The trainer walked so quickly that the rest of the group could not keep up.
Why it works: Keep up is used alone because the walking speed of the trainer is already clear.
2 more examples
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I check our team message board every morning to keep up with project updates.
Keep up with connects the action to new information.
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You made great progress on your knife skills today, so keep up the practice.
Keep up the practice means maintain an ongoing positive action.
Read the full guide
Decide When to Use Keep Up for Physical and Working Speed
When someone moves, speaks, or works faster than you, you need a phrase that describes staying at the same speed. The basic phrasal verb keep up means to continue at the necessary pace without falling behind. You can use keep up by itself when the context is obvious to your listener. For instance, if you are hiking together and your friend walks rapidly, you can say that you cannot keep up. You add the preposition with only when you name the person, vehicle, or pace directly.
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Please walk a little slower because the children cannot keep up.
Why it works: Keep up stands alone because the group's walking speed is already the shared focus.
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The warehouse packing line runs fast, but the morning crew keeps up with the belt.
Why it works: With connects the verb to the specific mechanical speed of the conveyor belt.
Your turn
Your coworker is speaking very quickly during a presentation. Which sentence correctly asks for an adjustment?
Answer: Could you slow down slightly? I cannot keep up.
Show the answer
Answer: Could you slow down slightly? I cannot keep up.
When you describe staying at the same speed and do not name an object, use keep up on its own.
Use Keep Up With for Information and Ongoing Demands
Beyond physical movement, speakers use keep up with for mental tracking and workload management. In a busy office or study group, information arrives every hour through messages, policy updates, and client requests. To keep up with information means you remain aware of current developments as they happen. In workload situations, keeping up with tasks means finishing items as they arrive so that work does not accumulate into a backlog (see /idioms/backlog/). To describe staying fully informed about general workplace news, speakers also use related phrases like getting up to speed (/idioms/up-to-speed/) or staying in the loop (/idioms/in-the-loop/). For listening practice with work updates, review /micro-listenings/20-3/.
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I read the community bulletin board every Friday to keep up with neighborhood news.
Why it works: Keep up with shows that the reader stays informed about community events.
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The support desk received fifty tickets this morning, but we managed to keep up with the queue.
Why it works: Here keep up with means completing incoming service tickets at the rate they arrive.
This also comes up in Bring up and Catch up.
Your turn
Which sentence shows that an employee stays informed about recent software changes?
Answer: She reads release notes every week to keep up with system changes.
Show the answer
Answer: She reads release notes every week to keep up with system changes.
Following new information requires keep up with before the noun phrase that names the topic.
Place Pronouns Correctly When Maintaining an Activity or Level
When your goal is to maintain a high standard, an energetic habit, or a steady rate of production, the structure changes. You can keep up an activity or keep an activity up. Common combinations include keep up the good work and keep your energy up. When you replace the noun with a pronoun such as it or them, English requires the pronoun between keep and up. You must say keep it up, never keep up it. By contrast, in keep up with them, the pronoun follows with.
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Your test scores are getting better each month, so keep it up.
Why it works: The pronoun it must sit between keep and up in this maintenance pattern.
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The kitchen staff must keep up their focus during the dinner rush.
Why it works: A full noun phrase like their focus can follow keep up or split the words.
Your turn
A manager wants to praise a team's progress and tell them to continue their excellent work. Which sentence has correct word order?
Answer: You are making steady progress, so keep it up.
Show the answer
Answer: You are making steady progress, so keep it up.
Pronouns like it or them must go between keep and up when expressing maintenance.
Choose the Pattern and Change Keep to Keeps, Kept, or Keeping
The verb keep changes form depending on the subject and the time frame: keeps, kept, and keeping. Kept serves as both the simple past form and the past participle. | Meaning | Pattern | Fresh Example | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Match pace | keep up (with) | Can you keep up with the lead runner? | | Manage workload | keep up with [noun] | I can't keep up with the orders today. | | Maintain level | keep [noun/pronoun] up | Did you keep up your practice routine? | Notice that questions and negatives with can and did retain the base form keep: Can you keep up? I can't keep up with the orders. Did you keep up?
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Can you keep up with the instructor, or should we ask for a pause?
Why it works: Can pairs with the base form keep in a question about current pace.
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I could not keep up with the orders yesterday because our printer stopped working.
Why it works: Could not uses the base form keep, while yesterday sets the past time frame.
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Yesterday we kept up with the delivery schedule despite the rain.
Why it works: Kept indicates a completed past action matching a schedule.
Your turn
Which sentence correctly reports an experience in yesterday's fast meeting?
Answer: I kept up with the discussion yesterday without any trouble.
Show the answer
Answer: I kept up with the discussion yesterday without any trouble.
The simple past affirmative uses kept up, while did requires the base form keep.
Distinguish Keep Up from Catch Up and Keep Someone Up
Learners often mix up keep up and catch up because both involve speed. Keep up means avoiding falling behind in the first place by maintaining the same speed. Catch up means you are already behind, so you must accelerate to reach the person or standard ahead of you. A different confusion involves keep someone up. If noise keeps you up, it prevents you from sleeping. Placing a person between keep and up refers to lost sleep, whereas keep up with me refers to walking or working at my speed.
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I fell two chapters behind last week, so I need to catch up this weekend.
Why it works: Catch up is required because the speaker is already behind and must close the gap.
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Loud road repairs kept me up until two in the morning.
Why it works: Kept me up means the noise prevented the speaker from sleeping.
Your turn
You were sick on Monday and missed two assignments. What should you tell your instructor on Wednesday?
Answer: I am ready to catch up on the missed assignments.
Show the answer
Answer: I am ready to catch up on the missed assignments.
Catch up expresses reaching the correct point after falling behind.
Ask for a Slower Demonstration in a Cooking Class
Practical cooking sessions require learners to chop vegetables, monitor heat, and listen to spoken directions at the same time. Here is an everyday classroom exchange: Student: 'Chef Marco, could you slow down the demonstration? I cannot keep up with your knife technique.' Teacher: 'Of course. Let me pause while everyone finishes dicing their onions.' Saying you cannot keep up communicates the pacing problem immediately without blaming anyone. Notice that outside the kitchen, separate patterns handle information and maintenance: you keep up with industry trends, and you keep up your daily vocabulary study.
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Chef, could you pause for a minute? I cannot keep up with your chopping speed.
Why it works: The student names the physical pace that is too fast to follow safely.
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The recipe has three simultaneous steps, so let us take a moment to keep up.
Why it works: Keep up indicates aligning the student's progress with the planned schedule.
Your turn
You are rolling pastry dough, but the chef starts seasoning the filling before you finish. How do you politely speak up?
Answer: Please slow down, Chef; I cannot keep up with this step.
Show the answer
Answer: Please slow down, Chef; I cannot keep up with this step.
Keep up with this step clearly explains that you are falling behind the current action.
Hear the Word Boundaries in Keep Up With and Keep It Up
In natural spoken English, words connect smoothly across boundaries. The final unvoiced p of keep links directly to the vowel in up, making keep up sound like 'kee-pup'. In the phrase keep it up, the t of it links to the following vowel as well, sounding like a single continuous unit: 'kee-pi-tup'. In keep up with, the preposition with and any following unstressed pronouns are pronounced lightly, so you must listen for the vowel change rather than waiting for isolated words.
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She walked fast, but her brother kept up easily.
Why it works: The pt sound in kept connects directly to up, softening the release of the t.
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You are swimming five laps every morning, so keep it up.
Why it works: The three words keep it up flow together as one linked phrase.
Your turn
When listening to a fast speaker say 'keep it up', why might it sound like one word?
Answer: The consonant sounds link into the vowels that follow them.
Show the answer
Answer: The consonant sounds link into the vowels that follow them.
Linking connects the final consonant of one word to the initial vowel of the next.
Recall the Right Keep Up Pattern Without a Model
To use these patterns reliably in spontaneous conversation, practice selecting the pattern from memory. Here is a three-step recall routine: 1. Meaning to pattern: for physical speed use keep up; for tracking updates or workloads use keep up with; for encouraging habit maintenance use keep it up. 2. Word-order correction: revise incorrect forms like 'keep up it' to 'keep it up'. 3. Personal recall: construct an original sentence about your own schedule, such as 'I wake up early to keep up with my morning emails.' Regularly testing yourself on these three steps builds instant confidence during real conversations.
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Our office received thirty phone calls before noon, but the receptionist kept up with them.
Why it works: Kept up with them correctly places the pronoun after the preposition with.
-
Your violin practice sounds much smoother this week, so keep it up.
Why it works: Keep it up correctly sandwiches the pronoun between verb and particle.
Your turn
Identify the sentence that contains a word-order error.
Answer: Your garden looks healthy, so keep up it.
Show the answer
Answer: Your garden looks healthy, so keep up it.
Maintenance with a pronoun requires keep it up. Placing it after up is incorrect.
Use it naturally
How people really use “keep up”
Neutral Fine almost anywhere, at work or with friends.
Words it often goes with
- keep up with the newsI listen to the radio to keep up with the news.
- keep up with demandThe bakery hired two more workers to keep up with demand.
- keep up the good workYou are doing a great job, so keep up the good work.
- keep up the paceWe can finish before lunch if we keep up the pace.
What people also say
- “I can't keep up.” instead of “I cannot move at the same speed as you.” Use this when the person or pace is already clear.
- “Keep it up!” instead of “Continue your good performance!” This is a friendly way to encourage someone.
Questions about "Keep up"
What does keep up mean?
Keep up means staying at the same speed or progress level as someone or something else so that you do not fall behind. It can refer to physical movement such as walking or running, managing incoming tasks such as emails, or maintaining an established habit over time.
She runs five miles every morning, and her brother tries to keep up.
When do I need with after keep up?
You need the preposition with whenever you explicitly name the person, speed, information, or workload that you are following. If the context already makes the comparison obvious to both speakers, use keep up alone without with.
I cannot keep up with this fast speaker.
He walked very quickly, but she managed to keep up.
Is it keep it up or keep up it?
The correct form is keep it up. In English phrasal verbs expressing maintenance, pronouns such as it, them, or this must be placed between the verb keep and the particle up. Never say keep up it.
Your pronunciation is improving steadily, so keep it up.
What's the difference between keep up and catch up?
Keep up means you avoid falling behind by staying level right now. Catch up means you are already behind someone or behind schedule, so you must work or move faster to reach them again.
We are working fast to keep up with today's schedule.
I was sick on Monday, so I worked late on Tuesday to catch up.
What is the past tense of keep up?
The past tense of keep up is kept up. Kept also serves as the past participle. When you ask questions or form negatives in the past with did or could, use the base form keep.
Yesterday the kitchen crew kept up with all dinner orders.
Did you keep up with the professor during yesterday's lecture?
Does keep me up mean the same as keep up with me?
No, they have completely different meanings. Keep up with me means match my speed or progress. Keep me up means prevent me from sleeping, usually because of noise, light, or anxiety.
You walk fast, but you can keep up with me.
The traffic noise outside my bedroom window kept me up all night.
Before you go
Remember this
Choose keep up alone when the pace is obvious. Use keep up with when naming the person, information, or workload you are following. Use keep something up or keep it up to maintain a level or habit. When talking about the past, use kept up.
Stage 2 of 5
Listen
Hear it in real sentences, from short to long, and write what you hear.
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Listening 1 of 4
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0:00
- I check our team message board every morning to keep up with project updates.
- You made great progress on your knife skills today, so keep up the practice.
Read the transcript
Please slow down because I cannot keep up.
Keep up is used without with because both walkers already know the speed being discussed.
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.
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.
- listen for "canno(t) keep": the final t in "cannot" may be hard to hear before the k in "keep."
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.
Listening 2 of 4
Listen, then type what you hear. Replay as often as you need.
0:00
- I check our team message board every morning to keep up with project updates.
- You made great progress on your knife skills today, so keep up the practice.
Read the transcript
Your cooking skills are improving, so keep it up.
Keep it up places the pronoun it between keep and up to encourage continuing a good effort.
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.
- listen for "kee-pit": the p in "keep" connects directly to "it."
- listen for "i-tup": the t in "it" connects to "up," making the phrase flow together.
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.
- listen for "kee-pit": the p in "keep" connects directly to "it."
- listen for "i-tup": the t in "it" connects to "up," making the phrase flow together.
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.
- listen for "kee-pit": the p in "keep" connects directly to "it."
- listen for "i-tup": the t in "it" connects to "up," making the phrase flow together.
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
- I check our team message board every morning to keep up with project updates.
- You made great progress on your knife skills today, so keep up the practice.
Read the transcript
Our office receives hundreds of messages every afternoon, but our small support team works together to keep up with client requests.
Keep up with is followed by client requests to describe managing incoming work demands.
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
- I check our team message board every morning to keep up with project updates.
- You made great progress on your knife skills today, so keep up the practice.
Read the transcript
During our morning cycling session, the front rider accelerated suddenly up the steep hill. Two members of our group had to stop and rest, but the rest of us pedaled hard and kept up with the leader until we reached the park entrance.
Kept up with expresses successfully matching another person's physical speed during a completed past event.
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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Save my progressStage 3 of 5
Speak
Say it with the speaker, then use it in your own answer.
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Say it along with the speaker
Please slow down because I cannot keep up.
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
Imagine you are visiting a weekend music festival where performance times may change. Speak for 30 to 60 seconds from memory about how you will keep track of the latest news and help a friend choose which shows to see.
Use: keep up with
Think for ten seconds, then answer out loud for as long as the task above asks, without looking at the lesson. Nothing is sent unless you ask for feedback.
0:00
Hear how someone else might say it
I'm going to a music festival with my friend this weekend. We both want to see several bands, but the performance times might change. I'll use the festival app to keep up with the latest news. I'll check it when we arrive and between shows. My friend prefers rock music, so I'll look for messages about those bands first. If a show moves to another stage, I'll tell her right away. We can also ask the festival staff for information if we lose our internet connection.
Try once more and answer this: Which performance would you most like to see?
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