keep silence / keep silent
What do they mean respectively? And what’s the difference between them?
Many thanks in advance.
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‘Keep silence’ is an unlikely collocation and also unlikely as a command.
‘Keep silent’ would mean ‘Remain/stay quiet’. In other words, someone might be telling you this:“Don’t make any noise.”
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Why unlikely? I’m a nonnative speaker and i’ve come across it a number of times:
Here are a few examples:
[color=blue]The vote was announced just before 5 o’clock. Despite the custom of synod to keep silence at such times, the tension was palpable.
Title Women of the Cloth; Economic Outlook; The Wall
Source PBS_Newshour
…
He caught up the bow and case, dived through the gateway into the shadow of the ruined wall, and found himself in a maze of brush and broken walls. His footsteps sounded louder than he liked on patches of exposed paving stones. He tried to keep silence, and now and again glanced back, afraid the creature was laughing all the while and following him. He dared not call out. He feared she might answer, unaware of the danger.
Title The Goblin Mirror
Author C.J. Cherryh
…
The audience that came may not have been the same one that would have come to hear a three-hour St. Matthew’s Passion or Rachmaninoff’s Vespers, but it did fill the sanctuary. We filed in from two sides singing " Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence. "
Title John Rutter: The churches’ court composer
Author Bendis, Debra
Source Christian Century
…
[color=blue]These had no effect on his captor other than to provoke yet another blow from the staff and an admonition to " Keep silence, piggy, else I’ll not wait for your fattening. I’ll smoke your belly and boil your head tomorrow. "
Title Inner Huff
Author Matthew Hughes
Source Fantasy & Science Fiction
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[color=blue]The tone was serious. " For my part, I want a responsible outside observer, to report the truth afterward. Already we’re having a crisis with the kzin. Please stay where you are and keep silence while I am transmitting.
Title Pele
Author Poul Anderson
Source Analog Science Fiction & Fact
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Is it your intention to mislead, Molly?
Do you really find your examples to be common in English? :shock:
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Hi Molly,
Some interesting examples but I must confess I haven’t come across ‘keep silence’ before. The expression I’m more familiar with is ‘maintain silence’ often used in those endless TV and cinema films where conspirators or the good guys tell members of their group to be as quiet as possible as they carry out their covert operation.
Alan
Common in which register? At times, amy, both you and Jamie seem to only favour language used in one register. I’ve noticed that many other Americans do the same. You’ll find “keep silence” appears in News, Fiction, Law, and Theological registers. And how common is “called in ill”?
Alan, you maybe need to read wider, or attend church more often: 
Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded,
For with blessing in His hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
Our full homage to demand.
From: Liturgy of St. James.
…
While still a teenager, Patrick Leigh Fermor made his way across Europe, as recounted in his classic memoirs, A Time of Gifts and Between the Woods and the Water. During World War II, he fought with local partisans against the Nazi occupiers of Crete. But in A Time to Keep Silence, Leigh Fermor writes about a more inward journey, describing his several sojourns in some of Europe’s oldest and most venerable monasteries.
…
U.S. Lawyers Keep Silence on Listening In
By NINA BERNSTEIN
Is the government secretly monitoring communications between plaintiffs and their lawyers in a federal class-action lawsuit against former Attorney General John Ashcroft and other top officials? Government lawyers yesterday politely refused a court order that they answer that question, asking instead that the court reconsider the order.
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Hi, Molly,
Maybe “keep silence” is a non-native speaker mistake, or it was used by a native speaker with the intent to create a special effect.
In both cases, a English learner would do perfectly well without that phrase, he or she has a hell of a lot of other things to learn.
Just my opinion.
I don’t think there was a question about whether one needs it or not, LS. This was the thread question:
BTW, which expression do you think students would need here?
“he called in sick” or "“he called in ill”
I would opt of “call in sick”, because I heard it a few times on TV and ccome across it in books.
“Call in ill” - I’ve never heard this expression.
Not many have.
More items:
Jury Hears Final Arguments in Analyst’s Libel Suit
By JANE GROSS,
Published: May 28, 1993
NY Times.
…
On My Mind; America’s War Goals
By A. M. ROSENTHAL
Published: January 30, 1998
…
To me, it doesn’t really matter whether he called in sick or he called in ill. What matters is he called in even though he was sick/ill :lol:
But was he?
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Your last two examples of ‘keep silence’ look like typos to me, Molly.
…
‘Call in sick’ sounds typical to me, but there are a number of expressions that people use, including ‘call off’, for example. Of course, if someone simply doesn’t show up for work, we often call that a ‘no show’.
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You don’t get it, Molly
He called in, in other words, he dropped in at the office, he showed up, even though he was sick. What a devotee!
Or irresponsible. He could’ve infected the whole team. :x
Oh, now it makes more sense ! I never believed in people’s responsibility 
By the way, Molly, did you know that a Google search for “looking forward to see” can produce over a million results? To me, the use of ‘see’ is not only wrong but also extremely unnatural in that phrase.
What do Google results actually mean?
Lesson? Don’t trust Google if you want native-speaker results. Check all results. Consult many sources, including native-speakers that may be around you at the time, and then decide. In looking at “keep silence” and “keep silent”, I’ve checked Google, the BNC, the BYU Corpus of American English, native-speakers here, my English husband, the Bible, law books, and a few major newspapers.
Now, do you think “keep silence” is wrong, incorrect English? If so, which sources have you checked?
And “looking forward to see” is not always incorrect. Sometimes, there’s an ellipted “in order to”.
“At the next meeting, we’ll be looking forward to see how we can change things.”
“You must look forward to see what the consequence of our actions will be.”