Learning English

Does Aubrey keep the secret?

How do you think the story ends?

A) Aubrey doesn't keep Ruthven's secret and something bad happens
B) Aubrey never tells anyone about Ruthven's death
C) Aubrey never sees Ruthven again
D) Something else

To do

Watch the video and find out which option is correct. And listen out for four more uses of keep.

รับชมวิดีโอพร้อมทำแบบฝีกหัด

To do

So, the correct answer was D) Something else - Ruthven comes back to life, marries Aubrey's sister and then kills her... what a violent story!

Now lets practise the different uses of keep. Have a go at this quiz.

Over to you

We asked you to tell us a story using as many of the phrases with keep as possible:

• keep away from
• keep 
• keep someone company
• keep his/her eyes open
• keep (something) a secret 
• keep his/her word 
• a kept woman 
• keep (something) to yourself 

Your stories

Teresa, Spain

Darrel always tells his daughter to keep away from the shore when the whole family goes to the beach in a windy day. But Amber, an eight-years-old girl, thinks that she can do it safely and she keeps playing near the sea. She meets with her friends there and she keeps their company while they have a bath playing with the waves.
Then, Darrel asks her to keep her eyes open because the turbulent sea can be dangerous if currents drag them away offshore. She promises his father to be careful and she usually keeps her word. That’s because she keeps a secret adventure to herself which took place last summer.
She went to the beach with her cousin Rose, seven years older than her, in a windy day too. They extended the towels on the sand and they decided to go into the sea to jump the waves. Suddenly, one of them broke over the two girls and the current dragged them away to the sea floor. Rose, who is an expert swimmer, had the strength to pull them out of the water. When both of them were safe, her cousin made Amber promise to keep their adventure a secret to avoid problems with their parents. That day Amber wrote down her story in her diary and nowadays she keeps it in a safe place. She is sure that in case she had to become a kept woman, she could sell her memories which are hidden in her personal diary…

BBC Learning English says:
Well done Teresa, a great story and some really wonderful sea vocabulary: turbulent, current, broke....very descripitive. You have used the keep vocabulary well but we need to alter one of the items. We should change she keeps their company while... to she keeps them company while... And don't forget that when we mention day we need to use on, so on a windy day. Great work and keep writing!

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End of Session 4

That's all for this session. We hope you enjoyed it. Next up, Tim's in the Pronunciation Workshop, looking at what happens when one word ends in /s/ and the next begins in /j/ or /ʃ/. Don't miss it!