up-phrasals 2 — save up, cheer up, make up, blow up (GiU Unit 144)
The family (Unit 143–144)
Section titled “The family (Unit 143–144)”| phrasal | meaning | example |
|---|---|---|
| take up | start a hobby | thinking of taking up tennis |
| save up | accumulate money for a purchase | I haven’t saved up enough yet |
| cheer up | make happier / become happier | Cheer up! · the news cheered me up |
| make up | invent (story/excuse) · reconcile · cosmetics | made up an excuse · they made up after the row |
| use up | consume completely, exhaust a supply | I’ve used up all my energy · use up the milk |
| be made up of | consist of (passive) | the committee is made up of ten members |
| do up | fasten (clothes) · renovate (building) | do up your jacket · did the house up |
| blow up | explode / destroy with explosives · inflate | the building was blown up · blow up a balloon |
| bring up | raise (a child) · mention (a topic) | brought up three kids · don’t bring it up |
| grow up | become adult (intransitive) | children grow up fast |
| come up | arise, happen (no object) | something came up |
| come up with | think of (an idea/plan) | came up with a good suggestion |
| tear up | rip into pieces | tore up the letter |
| break up | end (marriage/relationship) · disperse | they broke up · the meeting broke up |
| beat up | attack physically | beaten up in the fight |
| set up | establish (business/org) | Anna set up her own business |
| wash up | do the dishes (BrE) / wash oneself (AmE) | I’ll wash up after dinner |
| clear up | tidy · resolve (mystery) · clear (weather) | clear up the mess · the mystery cleared up |
| turn up | arrive/appear · raise (volume) | never turns up on time |
The pairs that trip exams
Section titled “The pairs that trip exams”grow up vs bring up — same fact, opposite directions:
- children grow up (intransitive — the child develops)
- parents bring up children (transitive — someone raises them)
- ✗ “children are brought up very quickly” reverses the subject; ✓ children grow up very quickly
do up — two lives: fasten (do up your jacket) and renovate (do up a house).
blow up — irregular participle blown: was blown up (✗ was blew up). Same set: throw/thrown, grow/grown, know/known.
come up vs come up with — come up = arise on its own, no object. come up with = you produce it (an idea). ✗ “came up a suggestion”.
save up vs save — save up = accumulate over time for a goal; save alone = rescue / keep.
Careful with particles
Section titled “Careful with particles”Object placement: short pronoun goes between verb and particle —
- do it up ✓ / do up it ✗
- save it up ✓ / cheer him up ✓
- tear it up ✓ / blow it up ✓
Source
Section titled “Source”Raymond Murphy, English Grammar in Use, Units 143–144 — Phrasal verbs up 1 and 2. Ebot lesson 2026-09-05.