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As suggested by the title, I want to use "keep" followed by some passive voices. Thanks in advance!

ZH.Cheng
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  • Please edit the question to limit it to a specific problem with enough detail to identify an adequate answer. – Community Oct 18 '22 at 10:04
  • When would you "keep a wire covered by an insulating layer"? You either use insulated wire or you don't. – Lambie Oct 18 '22 at 14:22

3 Answers3

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Keep the wire covered by an insulating layer.

Jack
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  • People here are just not reading properly. When would you ever "keep a wire covered with an insulating layer"? I think he means: Make sure to always use insulated wire. – Lambie Oct 18 '22 at 15:20
  • @Lambie: Some more context would certainly help. It's not impossible ("To avoid it heating the experiment setup too much, keep the wire covered with an insulating layer of fibreglass wool") but as you say, absent any context, other interpretations seem more likely. – psmears Oct 18 '22 at 15:52
  • @psmears I truly doubt the OP meant anything like that. – Lambie Oct 18 '22 at 15:57
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Keep the wire covered with an insulating layer.

Or better:

Keep the wire covered with a layer of insulation.

Hot Licks
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  • Think about the meaning just a tad. It's pretty senseless. You cover or do not cover something with "an insulating layer". It's not like it can be removed like a tarp over a woodpile. – Lambie Oct 18 '22 at 14:26
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You essentially have two options here if you want to use keep.

Why? Let's have a look at the definition of keep in the Oxford Learner's Dictionaries. There are 16 different entries under that definition, and if you examine them carefully, you will find that only entries 4 and 5 are relevant here.

Stay (entry 4). One possible structure is keep + adj., which uses the adjectival passive covered by an insulating layer to express a state:

Keep the wire covered by/with an insulating layer.

Continue (entry 5). The second possible structure is to keep doing something, which uses the gerund covering the wire with an insulating layer to express an action:

Keep covering the wire with an insulating layer.

For a deeper discussion of passive verbs (which describe an action) vs. adjectival passives (which describe a state), see the answer in the following thread: verb or adjective in "The blue page is *stapled* to the red page"?

Reference: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/keep_1

serencog
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