maintain
part of speech
verb (maintain, maintains, maintained, maintaining)
meaning for a pupil
1) To maintain something is to keep it in good condition by looking after it. tree →
2) To maintain is to keep something at the same level: maintain a speed. tree →
3) To maintain is to keep saying firmly that something is true. tree →
4) To maintain someone can mean to pay for what they need to live. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science: «maintain a constant temperature» keeps a fair test fair. In everyday life people maintain bikes, gardens and buildings. In maths: «maintains a speed of 50 km/h» means the speed stays the same, so distance = speed × time. Phrases: maintain order, maintain a balance.
examples
- You must maintain your bike by oiling the chain. tree →
- The car maintained a steady speed of 60 km/h. tree →
- He maintained that he was innocent. tree →
- Keep the water at the same temperature to maintain a fair test. tree →
- The caretaker maintains the school grounds. tree →
- Try to maintain eye contact when you speak. tree →
- Regular exercise helps maintain good health. tree →
- Yes, it always pays best when the wife sees and maintains that her husband knows best, and whatever he does is right. tree →
note
Regular verb. Noun: maintenance (note the spelling: mainten-ance, not maintain-ance). In maths, a maintained speed or rate is constant, so you can multiply.
In the corpora
- then hear Thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
- then hear Thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven Thy dwelling-place, and maintain their cause;
- For Thou hast maintained my right and my cause; Thou sattest upon the throne as the righteous Judge.
- O LORD, the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup, Thou maintainest my lot.
- I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the poor, and the right of the needy.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «maintain» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.