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Gene93 Posted 11 years ago
Vocabulary
to keep possession of something
Hello,
Do the sentences below sound natural to you:
- Hold on to the user manual in case you need it.
- Keep the user manual in case you need it.
- Retain the user manual in case you need it.
I think retain's most formal, but for some reason I think keep has the meaning of "don't throw it away". I think it's used quite often in such contexts. I wouldn't use "retain". What do you think? Are they fine?
Do the sentences below sound natural to you:
- Hold on to the user manual in case you need it.
- Keep the user manual in case you need it.
- Retain the user manual in case you need it.
I think retain's most formal, but for some reason I think keep has the meaning of "don't throw it away". I think it's used quite often in such contexts. I wouldn't use "retain". What do you think? Are they fine?
Top answer
Gene93 I think retain's most formal, but for some reason I think keep has the meaning of "don't throw it away". I think it's used quite often in such contexts. You're right.
- Gene93 I think retain's most formal, but for some reason I think keep has the meaning of "don't throw it away".
- I think it's used quite often in such contexts.
- You're right.
- Gene93 Are they fine?
- Yes.
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3 Answers
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Gene93I think retain's most formal, but for some reason I think keep has the meaning of "don't throw it away". I think it's used quite often in such contexts.You're right.
Gene93Are they fine?Yes. You could use "retain" but, it wouldn't be common in everyday English. It might be written on a manual.
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Yes, the sentences all sound natural.
“Hold on to” is the least formal and could easily be misunderstood by someone whose English was not natural, since one does not literally hold it after receiving it.
“Keep” has the implication of closeness—such as would apply to your driver license and registration for a car.
“Retain” is formal and implies that it may one day be needed, so d
“Hold on to” is the least formal and could easily be misunderstood by someone whose English was not natural, since one does not literally hold it after receiving it.
“Keep” has the implication of closeness—such as would apply to your driver license and registration for a car.
“Retain” is formal and implies that it may one day be needed, so d
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wilpeter could easily be misunderstood by someone whose English was not naturalI would be surprised if someone said to me "What do you mean?" Yes, the meaning of hold is clear, but I don't think anyone would expect the person to hold the manual in his hand/s all the time.
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