英语里的 keep、stay、remain 这三个词经常让初学者和中高级学习者感到头疼。它们看似相近,都带有“保持、停留”之意,但用法与搭配却千差万别,各自有一套应用套路。本篇文章将围绕这三个词组的区别、各自高频词组、典型语境,结合丰富的例句、直白清晰的讲解,帮你扫清疑惑。
一、keep 的用法及词组
Keep 属于“持续做某事/维持一种状态”的万能动词,经常用于表示主动行为,或让别人/自己处于某种状态;它搭配灵活、与不同的词搭成大量固定搭配,语义丰富。
keep doing sth. — 持续做某事
He keeps talking in class.
(他上课总在说话。)keep sb./sth. + adj. — 让某人/某物保持某种状态
Please keep the door closed.
(请把门一直关着。)keep on (doing sth.) — 继续(做某事)
She kept on studying until midnight.
(她一直学习到半夜。)keep up with — 跟上、紧跟
I can't keep up with this fast pace.
(我跟不上这么快的节奏。)keep away (from) — 远离
Please keep away from the edge of the platform.
(请远离站台边缘。)
个人总结: keep有“长期主动努力维持”的感觉,很多时候含继续或重复性(如keep going/keep trying)。搭配者可以是人、物,也能后接形容词或动名词、短语,灵活度极高。
stay 的用法及词组
Stay 偏向“停留”、“呆在某地/某状态”的意思,多数用来描述“处于特定地点”或“短时间不变”,强调保持现状,但通常更多是被动、静态。
stay at (a place) — 待在(某地)
I stayed at a hotel during my trip.
(我旅行期间住在酒店。)stay with sb. — 与某人住/待在一起
Can you stay with me tonight?
(今晚能陪我待会儿吗?)stay up — 熬夜、不睡觉
He stayed up until 2 am.
(他熬夜到凌晨两点。)stay away (from) — 远离(某人或某事)
Please stay away from my desk.
(请别靠近我的桌子。)stay calm/quiet/awake — 保持冷静/安静/清醒
The teacher asked us to stay quiet.
(老师让我们保持安静。)
个人评价: “stay”给人的印象很“静止”,往往是在说“原地别动/保持不变”,常用于具体地点或一时的心理、情绪状态。例如stay home、stay positive、stay safe。
remain 的用法及词组
Remain 是三个词里最正式、最书面化的一个,经常出现于新闻、科技、论文、官方文件。它强调“状态、情况、内容不变”,带有“持续处于某状态”的色彩,较为中性或被动。
remain+adj./n. — 维持某种(正式或抽象)状态
The door remained open all night.
(门整晚都开着。)
Her opinion remained unchanged.
(她的意见一直没变。)remain to be done — 仍有待完成
Several tasks remain to be finished.
(还有几项任务有待完成。)remain + 地点/位置 — 偏正式表达,强调留存于某地
Very few traces remained in the cave.
(洞穴中几乎没有遗迹留存。)it remains to be seen — 还有待观察/尚不可知
It remains to be seen whether it will succeed.
(这是否成功还有待观察。)
个人评价: remain听起来就比前两个词书面许多,对应“维持不变、仍然、留在原处”。日常对话比较少用,除非想显得正式或者是在偏理性、客观、描述状态的场合。
三者横向对比和典型混淆场景
用最简单粗暴的一句话概括:keep多体现主动行为,stay注重静止或暂时状态,remain着重书面和持续不变。举几个典型对比,帮你避开常见误区:
keep/stay calm vs. remain calm:
都能表示“保持冷静”。 keep calm — 强调你要“努力做到冷静”; stay calm — 强调“请别激动,维持住”; remain calm — 正式书面,某人在整个事件里“始终冷静”。keep vs. remain: keep the door open(让门一直开着),谁的主动行为; the door remains open(门一直处于开着的状态),无主语意图。
stay somewhere vs. remain somewhere: stay常见于口语(日常在hotel at home at school); remain更常用作“结果已成事实”,“留存”(如remains of a castle)。
一句话通俗结论:想表达主动坚持/维持多用keep,日常停留/呆着用stay,想要高级或书面表达“状态不变”选remain。
四、这三大词型的整体语感对比
keep给人积极、主动态、连续性强的感觉,用于想要达成某种结果的情况。
stay则“佛系”多了,更强调不做出动作而一直处于状态中。
remain类似“摆好姿势不动”,突出持续、客观、正式语境。
不用拘泥于固定规则,多接触原汁原味地道英文语料,会让你直觉分辨谁对谁错、谁更自然。
五、常用搭配汇总表
Keep: keep doing sth.; keep sb. safe; keep it up; keep in touch; keep a secret; keep moving; keep the change; keep fit; keep an eye on…
Stay: stay with sb.; stay up; stay late; stay at home; stay strong; stay silent; stay connected; stay put; stay informed; stay single
Remain: remain silent; remain unchanged; it remains to be seen; remain open; remain unsolved; remain unknown; remain valid; remain committed