Meaning & use
bookkeep
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Meaning
verbtransitive or intransitive
to record a business's income and spending in regular accounts.
Grammar: Can take an object (bookkeep the accounts) or stand alone (she bookkeeps for small firms).
Patterns
- bookkeep for someone
- bookkeep the accounts
She bookkeeps for three local restaurants.
He learned to bookkeep the family shop's accounts in a weekend.
Someone has to bookkeep if we want to know whether we are making a profit.
Word forms
| third person singular | bookkeeps |
|---|---|
| past tense | bookkept |
| past participle | bookkept |
| -ing form | bookkeeping |
Common combinations
- bookkeep for a company
- She bookkeeps for a small design company.
- bookkeep the accounts
- He bookkeeps the accounts every Friday afternoon.
- bookkeep part-time
- My aunt bookkeeps part-time from home.
- learn to bookkeep
- Many owners learn to bookkeep online.
Synonyms and how they differ
- keep the books
- The everyday phrase; use it instead of 'bookkeep' in speech or general writing.
- do the bookkeeping
- Focuses on the activity rather than the person doing it; more common than the verb 'bookkeep'.
- record
- Much more general: you can record anything, but you bookkeep only business accounts.
Word family
- bookkeeping noun
- The work of recording a business's money matters.
- bookkeeper noun
- A person whose job is to keep business accounts.
Commonly confused: bookkeep or bookkeeper?
bookkeep vs bookkeeper
The person; 'bookkeep' is the action. A bookkeeper bookkeeps.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'bookkeep' correctly?
Choose one answer.
With 'she' the verb needs the third person singular ending -s: 'bookkeeps'. Options 1 and 3 lack the ending, and option 4 needs the past participle 'bookkept' after 'has'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bookkeep”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.