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EyeSeeYou Posted 19 years ago
Grammar
Use of KEEP in this context ?
I get the idea but find the way keep is used here rather confusing. Shouldn't there be a passive voice or a subject used?
"... on Saturday afternoons one could buy, for a few pence, bags of unsold cakes that wouldn't keep in the shops until Monday..."
"... on Saturday afternoons one could buy, for a few pence, bags of unsold cakes that wouldn't keep in the shops until Monday..."
Top answer
EyeSeeYou I get the idea but find the way keep is used here rather confusing. Shouldn't there be a passive voice or a subject used? "...
- EyeSeeYou I get the idea but find the way keep is used here rather confusing.
- Shouldn't there be a passive voice or a subject used?
- "...
- " I think "keep" here means "stay fresh", so the passive wouldn't make sense.
- It doesn't have the meaning of "being kept" on the shelves.
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3 Answers
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EyeSeeYouI get the idea but find the way keep is used here rather confusing. Shouldn't there be a passive voice or a subject used?I think "keep" here means "stay fresh", so the passive wouldn
"... on Saturday afternoons one could buy, for a few pence, bags of unsold cakes that wouldn't keep in the shops until Monday..."
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Hi,
'Keep' can mean 'stay fresh' when we are talking about food. So there's no need for the passive in your sentence, the subject is the cakes.
Another couple of examples: 'This fruit won't keep until tomorrow, so we should finish it today' or 'This bread keeps for weeks in the fridge'.
Hope that's helpful,
Seonaid
'Keep' can mean 'stay fresh' when we are talking about food. So there's no need for the passive in your sentence, the subject is the cakes.
Another couple of examples: 'This fruit won't keep until tomorrow, so we should finish it today' or 'This bread keeps for weeks in the fridge'.
Hope that's helpful,
Seonaid
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