"Ele mantém a fazenda."

Translation: He keeps the farm.

[Sr.Noble]

"He maintains the farm" ok?

[jurrr]

that seemed likely to me, too

[djeidot]

yes, it is correct in this context

[johnpatdou]

"He runs the farm" should be accepted. "Running" a farm is the same as operating a farm, and is used at least as much as "keep" to describe operating a farm.

[Danmoller]

Well, the best would be "ele administra a fazenda", "ele toca a fazenda (quite informal)". But "mantém" can mean that too.

(New answer added)

[NathanDani10]

"He keeps the farm" is an invalid translation. No one would ever use this phrase to cummunicate the ideas of maintenance, upkeep, or support. Maybe it fits a literal translation, but duolingo should be avoiding practice phrases that would not be used in real life. "He runs the farm" would be a more natural choice from the options given.

[JoaoDSouza]

i believe you never heard someone say, "I maintain* the farm."

[al.gibb]

you are the only person here, spot on. It's invalid and shouldn't be used. Should be changed to avoid ongoing confusion.

[barbaratorrance]

maintains the farm =looks after==keeps it maintained

[riodemuelheim]

what does that even mean

[Paulenrique]

Manter means keep it going. Ele mantém a fazenda may mean he still leaves it open for visitors, he supports it with money, he takes care of it (keep it nice), etc.

[riodemuelheim]

Thanks for the good examples :-)
Thats how you get the feeling for a language:-)

[Paulenrique]

;) hope you enjoy your learning :)

[alison978376]

Keeps it going, takes care of it - like, looks after it?

[KellyMcGil1]

I believe "keeps the farm" is used here in the same context as "keeps house". I assume there is a different Portuguese word meaning "to retain", as in "he sells his city house, but he keeps the farm". Correct?

[djeidot]

Well, not exactly. You can use the word "mantém" in that sense as well. "Ele vende a casa, mas mantém a fazenda" would mean that he's not selling (i.e., is retaining) the farm.

That being said, there are synonyms of the word for both senses that help resolve ambiguity. If you mean "looks after the farm" you can use "tomar conta de": "Ele toma conta da fazenda". That translates roughly to "He takes care of the farm".

If you mean "retains the farm", the best translation would probably be "ficar com": "Ele fica com a fazenda". "Ficar com" in this context means that the farm will still belong to him. You can also use the direct translation of "retain" which is "reter" - "Ele retém a fazenda" (although it sounds a bit weird).

[Matt787268]

He keeps the farm

Maybe was going through divorce and was in danger of losing the farm? Then, yes, he keeps the farm.

Otherwise, this sounds more like maintains the farm

[JOHNRAINEY6]

how do you conjugate "mantem"

[Paulenrique]

http://www.conjuga-me.net/verbo-manter

[CR7708869]

I think "He runs the farm" is the best translation here.
Pity I wrote "He runs A farm" the first time oops!

[rotimi_babalola]

What's the difference between mantém and mantêm?

[Paulenrique]

• ele, ela, você, a gente mantém
• eles, elas, vocês mantêm

[rotimi_babalola]

Obrigado. Is there any difference in pronunciation? Because they sound very similar to me

[JamesEdwar6]

Program accepts eles mantem a fazenda which seems to be incorrect