phrasal verb · informal
keep (someone) from
/kiːp ˈsʌmwʌn frəm/KEEP·SOME·ONE·from
to stop someone or something from doing something; to prevent
Examples
“Her illness kept her from attending the ceremony.”
“Strict rules kept employees from entering the restricted area.”
“Financial difficulties kept him from finishing university.”
Band 8 sentence
“Strict safety rules kept workers from accessing the hazardous area until repairs were complete.”
Collocations
- keep children from playing outside
- keep people from accessing restricted data
Word family
Common mistakes
kept him from to speak→kept him from speaking
prevent someone to do→prevent someone from doing
Say it for a higher band
5stop→6prevent→7+keep (someone) from
Synonyms
prevent (someone) from
stop (someone) from
Easily confused
stop (someone) from
“The guard stopped him from leaving the building.”
prevent (someone) from
“High costs prevent many students from studying abroad.”
Related words
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In keep …
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