carry on and keep up

Status
Not open for further replies.

henz988

Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2008
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
Hello everyone,

I am having a hard time with carry on and keep up.

1. How long can this situation carry on?
2. This awkward situation kept up for 2 stations…
3. This perplexing situation kept up for a while and I had to get to the bottom of it!

4. — Sunny day, isn’t it?
— Let’s hope the sunny weather____ for Saturday’s tennis match.
A. carries on
B. moves on
C. keeps up
D. goes up
Key C

I am totally confused with them.
Sentences(2,3) are similar to the second sentence in question4 (and I have no problem with the key “keeps up”), but what about sentence1? It comes from a dictionary; what’s more, I can’t see anything wrong with it. And I am sorry, I can’t see anything wrong with “How long can this situation keep on/keep up?”, either.

1. How long can this situation carry on?
4. Let’s hope the sunny weather carries on for Saturday’s tennis match.
Why sentence4 is wrong? There must be a nut hidden somewhere?


Thank you.
 

bhaisahab

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Ireland
Hello everyone,

I am having a hard time with carry on and keep up.

1. How long can this situation carry on?
2. This awkward situation kept up for 2 stations…
3. This perplexing situation kept up for a while and I had to get to the bottom of it!

4. — Sunny day, isn’t it?
— Let’s hope the sunny weather____ for Saturday’s tennis match.
A. carries on
B. moves on
C. keeps up
D. goes up
Key C

I am totally confused with them.
Sentences(2,3) are similar to the second sentence in question4 (and I have no problem with the key “keeps up”), but what about sentence1? It comes from a dictionary; what’s more, I can’t see anything wrong with it. And I am sorry, I can’t see anything wrong with “How long can this situation keep on/keep up?”, either.

1. How long can this situation carry on?
4. Let’s hope the sunny weather carries on for Saturday’s tennis match.
Why sentence4 is wrong? There must be a nut hidden somewhere?


Thank you.

"keep up" doesn't work in any of the above examples. In 4 "lasts" would be my choice for the blank, with "carries on" as a distant second.
 

henz988

Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2008
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
Honestly, your comment is a shock to me because I have never before thought of the case that the option C doesn’t work in question4. I consulted my dictionary just now and found these two examples:
I hope the weather will keep up.
The rain kept up all night.
At least “keep up” can be used in such a way as in my starting thread. That said, I guess you mean “keep up” of such a meaning is already out of fashion now?
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
I have no problem with using "to keep up" when talking about specific weather. However, I do find it a little unnatural in the past tense. I would expect to hear:

If this rain keeps up, we'll have to cancel the picnic.
How long do you think this cold weather will keep up?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top