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learner1
Joined: 10 Mar 2007
Posts: 333
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 Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 5:42 am Post subject: stay vs. keep |
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Hello,
1.Can I say 'keep' instead of 'stay' in the sentence?
2.Can you tell me what 'stay' imply here? Does it mean 'remain' or 'maintain'?
"He helped her stay sober."
Thank you very much for your reply. |
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devinvancouver
Joined: 01 Mar 2009
Posts: 15
Location: Vancouver, Canada
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| Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:38 am Post subject: |
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No, you cannot say keep.
Stay is the proper verb for this sentence. You are correct, it means the same thing as remain in this context.
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learner1
Joined: 10 Mar 2007
Posts: 333
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| Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:31 am Post subject: |
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Hello devin,
Thanks for your answer. I have a question about 'keep'. As far as I know, 'keep' can mean 'to continue to be in a particular place or condition; remain; stay.', which is quoted from my dictionary.
Could you tell me why 'keep' isn't suitable in the sentnece?
Thank you very much for your reply. |
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devinvancouver
Joined: 01 Mar 2009
Posts: 15
Location: Vancouver, Canada
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| Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 10:14 am Post subject: |
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In most cases keep and stay are interchangeable. However, in this case, I don't know any native speaker who would ever say keep sober.
So, if you said keep sober, I would definitely understand your meaning, but it would be obvious that you are not a native speaker. I can't really give you a grammatical reason for it, sorry.
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learner1
Joined: 10 Mar 2007
Posts: 333
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| Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 11:11 am Post subject: |
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Hello devin,
Good explanation! That's helpful. Thank you very much. |
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