# Use of the word "up"after certain verbs **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 15, 2003, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-up-after-certain-verbs/161492 "2003-03-15T02:14:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-up-after-certain-verbs/161492/1 "2003-03-15T02:14:23Z")
We use phrases like “clean up”, “shut up”, “open up”, “close up”, etc., frequently. Perhaps because they’re so common, I never stopped to think why the “up” after the verb? It’s not at all clear to me what the origin of this usage is. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-up-after-certain-verbs/161492/2 "2003-03-15T02:54:32Z")
They are called “Phrasal verbs” > [@](#): > > Phrasal Verbs > Verbmster > > Phrasal verbs consist of a verb and another word or phrase, usually a preposition. They often arise from casual uses of the language and eventually work themselves into the mainstream of language use. Phrasal verbs can be both intransitive (The children were sitting around, doing nothing. The witness finally broke down on the stand.) and transitive in meaning (Our boss called off the meeting. She looked up her old boyfriend.) The word that is joined with a verb in this construction (often a preposition) is called a particle. [http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm](http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm) ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-up-after-certain-verbs/161492/3 "2003-03-15T03:48:19Z")
Excellent, thank you. Never heard of the term before. Your link is not working right now, but Googling on “phrasal verbs” gave a bunch of alternatives. Interestingly, many are English as a second language type sites. Must be a bugger to learn from scratch. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-up-after-certain-verbs/161492/4 "2003-03-15T05:24:31Z")
I think it’s a carry-over from our language’s Germanic ancestry. I don’t speak German but I know they have verbs that in the infinitive look like “upgelooken” and then split in half in phrases like “Hans ist looken das telefon number up”, which is the formulation we encounter in English. What the typical English speaker doesn’t have any more is the clear sense that the verb consists of the two parts together (although the grammarians do) because we don’t see them reunified. You can soak it up, but you can’t as gramatically wish to upsoak more of it later. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-up-after-certain-verbs/161492/5 "2003-03-15T05:52:28Z")
Reader’s Digest (:eek:\*\*) had a piece on the many uses of the word “up”, back when I was much younger and it was okay to read that publication. In many cases it has opposing uses like; shut-up and speak up; open up and close up. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-up-after-certain-verbs/161492/6 "2003-03-15T08:26:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Reeder \* > **They are called "Phrasal verbs"** And, for the sake of completeness, the little words (usually prepositions) you find after the main verb are known as “particles”. ---
**Author:** ![cleops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2acd7d/32.png) [@cleops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cleops)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-up-after-certain-verbs/161492/7 "2003-03-15T14:24:46Z")
Thank you, Psychonaut, for the sake of redundancy! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-up-after-certain-verbs/161492/8 "2003-03-15T14:39:20Z")
Oops… guess I should completely read through the cite before posting next time. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-up-after-certain-verbs/161492/9 "2003-03-15T14:45:18Z")
In the case of phrasal verbs with _up_, I think they have an aspectual meaning. (The **aspect** of the verb indicates whether the action is completed or in progress, instantaneous or enduring, momentary or habitual, etc.) I think the use of _up_ in the phrasal verbs you cited has a completive aspect. To _clean up_ means to clean until no more cleaning needs to be done: you’ve completed the action. In Hungarian the prefix _fel-_ meaning ‘up’ also lends this aspect to verbs. For example, _tölt_ means ‘to fill’; _feltölt_ means ‘to fill up’ — i.e., pour in until there’s no more room to pour any more in. The action is completed, the aspect is completive. This example, come to think of it, may be the origin of why _up_ shows the completive aspect. Because of filling a container to the top, the contents rising up to the top at which point the filling action is completed. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-up-after-certain-verbs/161492/10 "2003-03-15T16:56:06Z")
I think I’ll second **AHunter3** ’s explanation as plausible. I _did_ study German and lived in Germany two years (I’m not fluent, though). “Two-part” verbs never gave me a problem because they’re so frequent in English. I remember we used to fake-say “upgepfukt” all of the time :). These verb additions are modifications of the meaning of the main verb. In English, we can “sit.” Or we can “sit up” or “sit down,” for example. Dang, I can find my “501 Spanish Verbs” but the “501 German Verbs” seems to have gone missing – I seem to recall it had a great explanation of the German usage, which paralled English perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-up-after-certain-verbs/161492/11 "2003-03-15T17:29:08Z")
Well, Irish is not a Germanic language, but a lot of these “up” phrases can be translated into it word for word (the Irish word for “up” being _suas_) e.g.: “to give up” - _tabhair suas_ “to speak up” - _labhair suas_ “to clean up” - _glan suas_ etc. I always found that rather intriguing. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-up-after-certain-verbs/161492/12 "2003-03-15T18:20:06Z")
What about other, weird slang versions? Such as “word up”? ---
**Author:** ![Coilean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@Coilean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coilean)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-up-after-certain-verbs/161492/13 "2003-03-15T18:23:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jomo Mojo \* > **In the case of phrasal verbs with _up_, I think they have an aspectual meaning. (The aspect of the verb indicates whether the action is completed or in progress, instantaneous or enduring, momentary or habitual, etc.) I think the use of _up_ in the phrasal verbs you cited has a completive aspect. To _clean up_ means to clean until no more cleaning needs to be done: you’ve completed the action.** Though I’m a big fan of aspect, I don’t think it applies to phrasals. I say this becuse we can change the aspect w/o making a change to the particle. For example: “We cleaned up.” “We were cleaning up when…” “I clean up.” (A maid’s response to what she does for a living) “I clean up at five o’clock every day.” (A response regarding her schedule) “We’re cleaning up.” “We’re always cleaning up after the kids.” \*“We cleaned up all night.” (However, it’s more than possible that I’m misunderstanding this whole thing and will have to do the ol’ forehead slap when **Jomo** points out how wrong I am.) ---
**Author:** ![raygirvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-up-after-certain-verbs/161492/14 "2003-03-17T01:31:11Z")
_What about other, weird slang versions? Such as “word up”?_ Ah, indeed. “Beat up” (or US English, “beat up on”); “shoot up” (= inject a drug) and “stitch up” (= frame for a crime). ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-up-after-certain-verbs/161492/15 "2003-03-17T05:25:20Z")
The “up” and “down” forms seem to usually be intensifiers, carrying the rough meaning of “completely.” If the candle or the building burned, there might well be something left – the stub of the candle or the ruins of the building. But if the candle burned up or the building burned down, it suffered complete combustion, to the point that nothing burnable was left. “Open up” implies a complete opening, either physically or metaphorically. To clean up means to completely eliminate a mess, to clean thoroughly. As was implied in the posts above, it is often true that they have idiomatic meaning – to “shut up” is usually not “to shut completely” (though this meaning can occur, as in “Before we left for our month’s vacation, we shut up (=secured) the house and cancelled all deliveries”), but rather to cease speaking altogether. **Jomo** , I’ve always seen aspect in English as expressed in the perfect tenses, parallel to how it functions in the Slavic languages, and am less than comfortable with the idea that the phrasal verbs often carry aspectual meaning. Would you care to expound a bit further on how you see this in them? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-up-after-certain-verbs/161492/16 "2003-03-17T11:05:33Z")
English does not have a regular system for making verb aspect, the way some languages do. But there do exist constructions, like this one, where aspect is implied. Think—what is the difference between _to clean_ and _to clean up_? The former is indeterminate as to how much cleaning happens. The latter implies cleaning until there’s nothing more to clean. I would call this completive aspect, as an accurate, concise way to tell the difference between the two expressions. **Coileán** , you cited examples of various verb tenses, but I wasn’t talking about tense. Aspect can work for a verb in any tense. You can say “I’ll clean up my room tomorrow” and still mean that you plan to get the job done. ---
**Author:** ![Coilean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@Coilean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coilean)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-up-after-certain-verbs/161492/17 "2003-03-20T14:52:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jomo Mojo \* > \*\* > Think—what is the difference between _to clean_ and _to clean up_? The former is indeterminate as to how much cleaning happens. The latter implies cleaning until there’s nothing more to clean. I would call this completive aspect, as an accurate, concise way to tell the difference between the two expressions. \*\* **jomo** , Though I agree with your interpretation of the phase, I’m still hesitant to call it an aspectual difference. Instead, I would say it’s a difference in telicity. Telic referring to those processes seen as having a natural point of completion, atelic being undefined. As I said before my preference for this term is rooted in the fact that we can produce aspectual changes w/o any changes to the particle. To go back to one of my examples: “We cleaned up.” --simple past “We were cleaning up when…” --past progressive However, at the end of the day I think we’re talking about the same thing, just using different words to describe it. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-up-after-certain-verbs/161492/18 "2003-03-20T14:55:34Z")
…or, as in “O Brother Where Art Thou?” She loved him up… That one kills me! ---
**Author:** ![godzillatemple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@godzillatemple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/godzillatemple)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-up-after-certain-verbs/161492/19 "2003-03-20T15:05:51Z")
I’m sorry, but poor grammar is something up with which I shall not put… 😉 Barry