Phrasal verbs with "UP" - Learn English prepositions

Prepositions and phrasal verbs

I hate them you hate them

but there is a super easy way to learn lots of phrasal verbs in, like, a second

if you understand how the preposition works

then you'll understand millions of phrasal verbs

Ok maybe not millions but, you know, a lot

First: what's a phrasal verb? it's a verb with one or two particles, prepositions

which isn't usually easy to understand so everyone hates them

but again learn the common meanings of that preposition and it's super easy

"UP" is a really interesting preposition it's so useful

Of course sometimes a verb with up is obvious

It's a direction of movement, for example:

Surprise! Surprise!

Happy birthday!

Look up! I make that sign! I made it!

"Look up", "Look down", basically any verb which gives movement and "UP"

implies movement in that direction

the second common meaning of "UP" is also quite easy quite obvious

if you want to say something "Increased"

"This year, our sales INCREASED"

You might use the preposition "UP", for example:

"This year our sales WENT UP"

"Sales went up" they increased

Change that verb to add more meaning

let's imagine that the sales went up very fast

we want to say increase so the preposition is UP

but which verb implies movement in that direction very fast?

We could have "Jump", "Leap", "Rocket"

So you could say "The sales jumped up / leapt up / rocketed up"

and if you're going to take the IELTS exam

those phrasal verbs are very useful

particularly for the writing section

and the reading too.

speaking too

listening too

all of it

Oh and of course you know "Turn up"

"To turn up the volume" = To increase the volume

If it's cold I might want to turn up the heat

to increase the heat

See! Your phrasal verb vocabulary is going up loads already

We also use a verb with up to add emphasis to say:

I completely finished something, I did it to completion

What do I mean?

Here's an example:

If I say "I cleaned" it might mean I cleaned everything

It might mean I cleaned a little bit here and there

But, if I say "I cleaned UP"

this now sounds like yeah I cleaned everything

again it just adds emphasis to say you've finished something it's completed it's done, everything!

Let's use it in other situations for example there's pizza in the kitchen

Well there was pizza in the kitchen but

You ate ALL of the pizza, how might you say this?

of course you could say:

"I ate it all" that's fine, but if you add UP "I ate it all up"

You're adding emphasis to mean EVERYTHING!

and in this case you could remove "all"

So: "Yeah, I ate it up! What?!"

"Don't judge me! I like pizza!"

So let's look at that in other verbs, for example:

You're in a pub, it's time to leave

but you still have your drink

this looks like pee

Your friends say "Come on, we have to leave, FINISH your drink"

What will they say to you?

Come on we have to go!

Drink UP!

if you go to your friend's house and you want to use their milk

you might ask "Can I use your milk?"

but what if you finish the milk?

What will you tell your friend?

To add that emphasis to say "I FINISHED your milk"

"I used up your milk."

"Sorry I used up your milk"

It just adds emphasis

The exception however

If you watched all of Walking Dead you completed it

You would NOT say "I watched up all of Walking Dead"

We don't say that this way

for some verbs we just don't use them

if you said it, we would understand from the preposition from the context

but it's the style we just we don't say that

My rule of thumb is if you hear someone using a verb with up in that context

Then you can use it. It means it's in common use

Another meaning of UP means to approach someone or something

and this phrasal verb is usually "UP TO someone"/ "UP TO something"

For example:

I was in a bar and this guy came up to me

and asked for a fight

in other words he approached me

he came near to me, he came close to me

He came UP TO me

Change the verb, make it interesting

How can you approach someone?

You can walk up to someone

You could run up to someone

or, why not, I saw a cute girl and I danced up to her

In a car, you can drive up to the entrance of a building

So in this way, the preposition UP has this "arrive" feeling to it

Like in those last examples

and one very useful phrasal verb to remember is "Show up" or "Turn up"

they mean "arrive in a strange or unexpected way"

For example: You can turn up to work two hours late

Show up to work five hours early

not just late or early

something is strange or different about how you arrived

For example, if I die and at my funeral this happens...

Aly's dead

Seriously? You showed up in a banana suit!?

Are you mental?

okay, actually if I die one day I insist

I'm saying it here officially

At my funeral everyone must be in banana suits

otherwise you're not invited

Now you know the common meanings of UP,

you can adapt that so many many different verbs

That is how we native speakers know and understand phrasal verbs

through the preposition

okay next, in these phrasal verbs

the preposition up doesn't follow the logic of what we just learned

the meanings are completely random

But they're the most useful, common phrasal verbs that I can give you

Let's go!

End up / Wind up

You're telling a story

Lots of things happen in the story

but you want to say how the story ends

how the situation finishes

use END UP or WIND UP for example:

Oh man I went drinking last Friday, I ended up in France the next morning!

it just means the end of a story

Make up

there are two meanings of this phrasal verb

one of them means to invent a lie, make a story

You lie, basically

Yeah can I have a regular latte, please?

Hi

Hi!

You know, I work for... Bitcoin

Oh really?

No, that's a lie, I'm sorry. I made it up

Uh huh

However another meaning of make up

or make up with someone

this means you had a friendship or a relationship

You stopped that friendship in a bad way, you're not friends, you don't like each other

but then you become friends again

You "make up" or "make up with each other"

For example:

- I hate you - I hate YOU!

- Aww I love you let's be friends again! - Okay

- Aww! - They made up!

"Come up"

When something unexpected happens, maybe a problem

something "CAME UP" for example:

Oh I'm so sorry I have to leave,

something's just come up but I'll call you later

This is very useful when you want to cancel a meeting but not give details about why

"Something came up! I have to not do the thing!"

"Come up with"

this time you need to improvise

create an idea story a plan

then you COME UP WITH something

For example:

What are you doing for Valentine's Day?

Noooo! That's tomorrow, isn't it?!

I'll buy flowers or something

I'll come up with something!

"Hurry up!" You want someone to move faster, you say "Hurry up!"

Example:

Ugh! Hurry up, I want my coffee!

"Break up" when a relationship ends

Use "break up" or "split up", example:

Why are we breaking up? Is this because I fart in bed?

Yeah it's exactly that

Look something up

You want to find information to Google something, for example:

You want to find an address, a phone number, some information

You LOOK it UP

You find that information, for example:

Excuse me, mmm where does the Queen live?

I don't know actually, I'll look it up

"To throw up" it means to vomit, sometimes it happens to everyone

Lucy!

Are you okay?

Well don't throw up! This is a clean shirt!

Urgh!

Wait you're not gonna - No! No! No! No!

Gross!

Oh I'm so sorry!

and finally when something explodes it "Blows up"

Whoa! Oh my god did you see that? The car just blew up!

And if you want more practice with phrasal verbs with the preposition "UP"

I made some lesson notes, a worksheet

the link to that is in the description

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