we can keep it from flowing away??

[keannu]

This is related to a company's eco-friendly effort for its promotion."It" definitely means "the earth", and what is "all" and "flowing away"? I guess all is "things on the earth" and flowing away is to disappear,
but when you use keep for the meaning of "preventing", you normally use "I kept him from going" without an additional subject before going, but I think there could be exceptional cases. Right?


ex) ...We are striving to make a difference through eco-friendly operations. For example, our recent technology for printers and copiers has reduced CO2 emissions over the past 8 years by around 8.4 million tons. More important, thanks to this technology's success, the rate of CO2 decrease is now growing...... We reuse and recycle materials and work constantly to reduce energy use. The earth is precious. By focusing on eco-friendly effort, we can keep it from all just flowing away.

 

[The Dude]

Oh what a pity - the writer did a good job right up to the last sentence, at which point he seems to have completely lost his grip!:shock:

I think you are right in your interpretation of what is meant. Also in your understanding of the normal use of 'to keep' when meaning 'to prevent'. And there probably will be exceptions, as there are to most rules of grammar.

So, well done in your analysis. But do I want to rewrite that ending so that it makes sense? Er, no.:lol:

 

[keannu]

Oh what a pity - the writer did a good job right up to the last sentence, at which point he seems to have completely lost his grip!:shock:

I think you are right in your interpretation of what is meant. Also in your understanding of the normal use of 'to keep' when meaning 'to prevent'. And there probably will be exceptions, as there are to most rules of grammar.

So, well done in your analysis. But do I want to rewrite that ending so that it makes sense? Er, no.:lol:

Thank you, if you want, you can rewrite it.