English Vocabulary in Use Pre-intermediate and Intermediate » Unit 82: Keyverbs: give, keep and miss

Word List
  • give [cause an effect]
  • give a speech/lecture (etc.)
  • give sb a hand
  • give sb a ring
  • give sb a shock
  • give sth a push
  • hug
  • keep [stay in a place/condition]
  • keep (on) doing sth
  • keep a secret
  • keep in touch
  • keep sth up
  • miss [avoid]
  • miss [not hear]
  • miss sb
  • miss a chance/opportunity
  • push
  • speech
Exercises

82.1 ‣ Complete the sentences with a suitable adjective or -ing form.

  1. I never drink coffee at night; it keeps me .
  2. This umbrella should keep you _____.
  3. I don’t know why she keeps _____– it wasn’t a very funny story.
  4. If you do lots of exercise, it’ll keep you _____.
  5. It’s really stupid, but I keep _____ to lock the doors and windows when I go out.
  6. They’re making a lot of noise in there. Could you tell them to keep _____?
  7. I know his name is Stuart, but I keep _____ it’s Stephen.
  8. I keep _____ up early in the morning because it’s so light in my bedroom.

82.2 ‣ Complete the dialogues using a verb + noun. Don’t repeat the underlined phrases.

  1. A: He’s sad without Harper.
    B: I know. He .
  2. A: Did you phone her?
    B: Yes, I _____ her a _____ last night.
  3. A: He didn’t put his arms round her, did he?
    B: Yes. He _____ her a big _____.
  4. A: Have you stayed in contact with your old school friends all this time?
    B: Yes, I’ve tried to _____ in _____ as much as possible.
  5. A: Could anyone help me with this?
    B: Yeah, I’ll _____ you a _____.
  6. A: It’s his own fault. He had a chance to go and he didn’t take it.
    B: I know. He _____ his _____.
  7. A: I expect you’re hungry after all that work.
    B: Yes, it’s _____ me an _____.

82.3 ‣ Complete the sentences with the correct verb and a word from the box.

  1. shock
  2. fun
  3. headaches
  4. secret
  5. push
  6. up
  7. dog
  8. idea
  9. rush hour
  1. She me a when she broke that window.
  2. If we leave the party early, we’ll _____ all the _____.
  3. The guys are working really hard, but I don’t know if they can _____ it _____.
  4. I couldn’t get the car started, but fortunately someone _____ me a _____.
  5. We left before seven because we wanted to _____ the _____.
  6. She doesn’t know what the problem is, but she _____ getting _____.
  7. I saw a fascinating programme on TV, and that’s what _____ me the _____.
  8. When I go on holiday alone, I really _____ my _____.
  9. I didn’t say anything to Annie about the wedding because she can’t _____ a _____.
Answer Key
A ‣ Give

We can use give when someone or something causes a certain effect.
All that noise has given me a headache.
The walk this morning gave me an appetite [made me hungry].
Listening to Wai Sin has given me an idea.

We often use give with different nouns to express an action.
He gave me some advice [advised me].
Valentina gave us a shock when she shouted like that. [shocked us]
I had to give a speech at the wedding. [talk formally to a group of people; also give a lecture]
I’ll give her a ring [ring/phone her].
I had lots of work to do, but fortunately Ollie gave me a hand [helped me].


  1. She gave me a hug.

  2. He gave the car a push.

B ‣ Keep

Keep can mean to stay or cause someone to stay in a particular state or condition.
Keep right [stay on the right side].
She asked us to keep quiet.
This coat will keep you warm.
Going to the gym keeps me fit.

Keep (on) doing something means to repeat doing something, and often it is something you don’t want to do or happen.
I keep losing my glasses.
I keep getting backache.
She keeps on interrupting me. [talks to me / disturbs me when I am doing something]

If you keep in touch, you continue to communicate with someone, especially by phone or email.
I met Mara on holiday and we’ve kept in touch ever since.

If you keep a secret, you don’t tell other people something that you know.
Tom told me not to tell anyone about his new job, but I’m not very good at keeping a secret.

If you keep something up, you continue doing something at a high level.
You’re working hard and your English is improving. That’s good – keep it up.

C ‣ Miss

If you miss a person, you feel sad because that person is not there.
When I went to work in Hungary, I really missed my girlfriend.

If you miss what someone says, you don’t hear it.
I’m sorry, I missed that. What did you say?

If you miss a chance/opportunity, you don’t use an opportunity to do something.
Lily’s been chosen for the team, but now she’s injured, she might miss her chance to play.

If you miss something, you manage to avoid it or not experience it.
I left home early in order to miss the rush hour.

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