Phrasal Verbs 8: up (2) | Unit 144 | PrepMyEnglish
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Unit 144 · Grammar Lesson
Unité 144 · Leçon de Grammaire

Phrasal Verbs 8 — up (2)
bring up · come up with · make up · cheer up · put up with · hold up · mix up — Complete Guide Verbes à Particule 8 — up (2)
bring up · come up with · make up · cheer up · put up with · hold up · mix up — Guide Complet

Master 17 essential phrasal verbs with up — from introducing topics and inventing stories to tolerating difficult situations and confusing similar things.

Maîtrisez 17 verbes à particule essentiels avec up — aborder des sujets, inventer des histoires, supporter des situations difficiles et confondre des choses similaires.

B1 – B2 4 Rules · 4 Exercises · 200-Q Quiz · PDF 4 Règles · 4 Exercices · Quiz 200 Q · PDF 🇬🇧 EN / 🇫🇷 FR

This unit focuses on phrasal verbs formed with up — a particle that often adds the idea of completion, increase, or movement in a conversation or situation. These verbs are common in everyday English and many have idiomatic meanings that cannot be guessed from the individual words alone.

Cette unité porte sur les verbes à particule formés avec up — une particule qui ajoute souvent l’idée d’achèvement, d’augmentation ou d’évolution dans une conversation ou une situation. Ces verbes sont courants dans l’anglais quotidien et beaucoup ont des sens idiomatiques qu’on ne peut pas deviner à partir des mots seuls.

A

bring up · come up · come up with · make up

bring up · come up · come up with · make up

bring up a topic
= introduce it in a conversation
= l’aborder / le soulever dans une conversation
I don’t want to hear any more about this. Please don’t bring it up again.
come up
= be introduced in a conversation / arise
= surgir / être abordé dans une conversation
Some interesting things came up in our discussion yesterday.
come up with an idea
= produce / think of an idea or suggestion
= trouver / proposer une idée ou une suggestion
Sarah is very creative. She’s always coming up with new ideas.
make something up
= invent something that is not true
= inventer quelque chose de faux / fabriquer
What Kevin told you about himself wasn’t true. He made it all up.
Note the difference between come up and bring up:
‘The topic came up.’ (it arose naturally — no agent)
‘She brought up the topic.’ (she deliberately introduced it) Notez la différence entre come up et bring up :
‘The topic came up.’ (il a surgi naturellement — sans agent)
‘She brought up the topic.’ (elle l’a délibérément abordé)
💡
Word order with objects: When the object is a pronoun, it must go between the verb and the particle. ✓ She made it up. ✗ She made up it. When the object is a noun, both positions are possible: She made up a story / She made a story up. Ordre des mots avec les pronoms : Quand le complément est un pronom, il doit être placé entre le verbe et la particule. ✓ She made it up. ✗ She made up it. Avec un nom, les deux positions sont possibles : She made up a story / She made a story up.
B

cheer up · save up · clear up

cheer up · save up · clear up

cheer up / cheer somebody up
= become happier / make somebody feel happier
= reprendre courage / remonter le moral de quelqu’un
You look so sad! Cheer up! · Helen is depressed. What can we do to cheer her up?
save up for something
= save money gradually to buy something
= économiser / mettre de l’argent de côté pour acheter quelque chose
Dan is saving up for a trip to New Zealand.
clear up
= become bright / stop raining (weather)
= s’éclaircir / cesser de pleuvoir (météo)
It was raining when I got up, but it cleared up later.
📌
cheer up is intransitive (no object) or transitive (with object): Cheer up! (no object) / The good news cheered her up. (object between verb and particle). cheer up peut être intransitif (sans complément) ou transitif (avec complément) : Cheer up ! (sans complément) / The good news cheered her up. (complément entre le verbe et la particule).
C

blow up · tear up · beat up

blow up · tear up · beat up

blow up
= explode / destroy something with a bomb
= exploser / faire sauter quelque chose avec une bombe
The engine caught fire and blew up. · The bridge was blown up during the war.
tear something up
= tear it into pieces
= déchirer quelque chose en morceaux
I didn’t read the letter. I just tore it up and threw it away.
beat somebody up
= hit someone repeatedly so that they are badly hurt
= rouer quelqu’un de coups / tabasser
A friend of mine was attacked and beaten up. He had to go to hospital.
⚠️
blow up has two patterns: intransitive (the thing explodes itself: The bomb blew up) and transitive (someone destroys it: They blew up the bridge). With a pronoun object: They blew it up — never They blew up it. blow up a deux constructions : intransitif (la chose explose d’elle-même : The bomb blew up) et transitif (quelqu’un la détruit : They blew up the bridge). Avec un pronom : They blew it up — jamais They blew up it.
D

break/split up · do up · look up · put up with · hold up · mix up

break/split up · do up · look up · put up with · hold up · mix up

break up / split up
= (of a couple / group) separate
= se séparer / rompre (couple ou groupe)
I’m surprised Kate and Paul have split up. They seemed very happy together.
do up (clothing)
= fasten / tie / button
= fermer / boutonner / attacher
It’s quite cold. Do up your coat before you go out.
do up (a building)
= repair and improve it / renovate
= rénover / refaire / améliorer
The kitchen looks great now that it has been done up.
look something up
= find information in a dictionary / book / online
= chercher (dans un dictionnaire / un livre / en ligne)
If you don’t know the meaning of a word, you can look it up in a dictionary.
put up with something
= tolerate a difficult situation or person
= supporter / tolérer une situation difficile ou une personne
We live on a busy road, so we have to put up with a lot of noise from the traffic.
hold somebody/something up
= delay
= retarder / ralentir
Don’t wait for me. I don’t want to hold you up. · Plans were held up by financial problems.
mix somebody/something up
= confuse two people or things / think one is the other
= confondre deux personnes ou deux choses
The two brothers look very similar. People often mix them up.
💡
put up with is a three-word phrasal verb and cannot be separated: ✓ I can’t put up with this noise. ✗ I can’t put this noise up with. The object always comes after the complete phrasal verb. put up with est un verbe à trois mots et ne peut pas être séparé : ✓ I can’t put up with this noise. ✗ I can’t put this noise up with. Le complément vient toujours après le verbe phrasal complet.

Phrasal Verbs: up (2) — ExercisesVerbes à particule : up (2) — Exercices

Check your answers instantly

Vérifiez vos réponses instantanément

EX 1

Choose the correct phrasal verb to complete each sentence.

Choisissez le bon verbe à particule pour compléter chaque phrase.

Use: bring up · came up · come up with · made up · cheer up · save up · clear up

Utilisez : bring up · came up · come up with · made up · cheer up · save up · clear up

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Answers: 1. bring up  ·  2. came up  ·  3. comes up with  ·  4. makes up / made up  ·  5. Cheer up  ·  6. saving up  ·  7. clears up
EX 2

Complete with blow up, tear up, beat up, or look up.

Complétez avec blow up, tear up, beat up ou look up.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Answers: 1. blown up  ·  2. tore it up / tore up  ·  3. beaten up  ·  4. look it up  ·  5. blew up  ·  6. tore up
EX 3

Complete using a phrasal verb from Section D.

Complétez en utilisant un verbe à particule de la Section D.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Answers: 1. split up / broken up  ·  2. Do up  ·  3. did it up / did up  ·  4. put up with  ·  5. hold you up  ·  6. mix them up
EX 4

Mixed. Complete with a suitable phrasal verb with up.

Mixte. Complétez avec un verbe à particule avec up.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Answers: 1. put up with  ·  2. making it up  ·  3. come up with  ·  4. bring it up  ·  5. saving up  ·  6. cheer him up  ·  7. tear them up  ·  8. mix them up

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions Fréquentes

Bring up = someone deliberately introduces a topic: She brought up the issue of money (she chose to raise it). Come up = a topic arises naturally, often without someone intending it: The issue of money came up (it appeared in the conversation on its own).

Bring up = quelqu’un aborde délibérément un sujet. Come up = un sujet surgit naturellement.

No. With pronoun objects, separable phrasal verbs must be split: ✓ She made it up (pronoun between verb and particle). ✗ She made up it is WRONG. With noun objects, both positions work: She made up a story / She made a story up.

Non. Avec les pronoms, les verbes à particule séparables doivent être séparés : ✓ She made it up. ✗ She made up it est FAUX.

Put up with is a three-word (inseparable) phrasal verb. The object always follows the entire expression: ✓ I can’t put up with the noise. ✗ I can’t put the noise up with.

Put up with est un verbe à particule à trois mots (inséparable). Le complément suit toujours l’expression entière.

(1) Fasten / close clothing: Do up your coat / your buttons / your shoelaces. (2) Renovate a building or room: They did up the kitchen = they repaired and improved it.

(1) Fermer / attacher un vêtement. (2) Rénover un bâtiment ou une pièce.

🎯 Unit 144 · MCQ QuizUnité 144 · Quiz QCM

Phrasal Verbs: up (2) — Quiz

Verbes à particule : up (2) — Quiz

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Unit 144 Quiz

Quiz Unité 144

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