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To translate “to stay in a given state without interruption,” which of the following verbs is most appropriate: mantenerse, permanecer, and/or quedarse?

I will use dormido for example with the intention of meaning “seguir durmiendo sin interrupción”:

  1. Me mantuve dormido.
  2. Permanecí dormido.
  3. Me quedé dormido.

I also wonder about prepositional phrases, such as to mean “No colgue”:

  1. Manténgase en línea.
  2. Permanezca en línea.
  3. Quédese en línea.

When it comes to quedarse + adjectivo, I am familiar with that mainly meaning “to change state as a result of an action or the passage of time,” such as “Me quedé calvo.” Even “quedarse dormido” can be used as a synonym for “dormirse,” so I wonder if quedarse can be used in both uses depending on the context.

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Of the three verbs, "mantenerse" and "permanecer" are a little more formal than "quedarse", but all three can be used to mean "stay/remain (in a certain condition)".

Concerning the two meanings of "quedar" pointed out, they both appear under (5) here:

  1. intr. Dicho de una persona o de una cosa: (a) Permanecer en su estado, o (b) pasar a otro más o menos estable. La carta quedó sin contestar. Quedó herido. Quedó por contestar.

(a) and (b) above are mine.

"Permanecer" and "mantenerse" never refer to a change of condition.

"Quedarse" and "quedar" can both be used for sentient subjects, while only "quedar" can be used with objects. In the case of sentient subjects, the correct form (pronominal or non-pronominal) will be chosen according to the verb phrase in question. My impression is that "quedarse" will be used when the person (or animal) reaches that condition by themselves, while "quedar" will be mostly used when something or somebody external contributed to that effect:

  • Se quedó dormido (He/She/It fell asleep)

  • Quedó herido (He/She/It got hurt)

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  • Thanks for your help as always, Gustavson. I notice RAE marks neither of those two definitions as “U. tb. c. promominal.” Is quedar preferable to quedarse then in these cases?
    – Sebastian Pojman-Malo
    Commented Aug 5 at 18:55
  • In other words, how is “Se quedó sin contestar”?
    – Sebastian Pojman-Malo
    Commented Aug 5 at 18:59
  • "Se quedó sin contestar" would refer to a person (he/she failed to give an answer, he/she remained speechless). "Quedó sin contestar" would be said of a question that remained unanswered.
    – Gustavson
    Commented Aug 5 at 19:33
  • Ah, OK. Quedarse is more human-oriented, as are many reflexive verbs, while quedar is not. Yo me quedé dormido, aún con el ruido de los chicos. La carta quedó sin contestar en la mesa. ¿Le parecen bien a usted?
    – Sebastian Pojman-Malo
    Commented Aug 5 at 19:38
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    Exact, it works like that. But "quedar" alone can also refer to people.
    – Gustavson
    Commented Aug 5 at 19:49

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