Up

Up is an adverb, a preposition and an adjective.

Up is the opposite of down. It refers to movement to a higher level.

Up as an adverb

We use up as an adverb to talk about movement towards a higher position, value, number or level:

She put the books up on the highest shelf.

The good weather has pushed sales of summer clothes up.

We light the fire every night and that heats the room up.

Up as a preposition

We use up to talk about a higher position or movement to a higher position:

He was up a ladder painting.

My grandparents live just up the road.

I followed Vivian up the stairs, where there was a small dining room.

As we were climbing up the narrow mountain road, we could see the sea below.

Up as an adjective

We use up as an adjective usually to talk about increases in prices, levels or amounts:

The price of fuel is up again.

It was cold yesterday but the temperature is up today.

Spoken English:

In informal speaking, we say that something is up when something is wrong. We use the phrase What’s up? to ask what’s happening:

Katrina was in that morning. She noticed that something was up and she came over to see me. ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked. ‘Nothing. Nothing’s wrong. I’ve had rather a surprising piece of news, that’s all.’ ‘Why, what’s up?’

Up to with numbers

We use up to with numbers and amounts when we are being approximate. It means ‘as much as’ or ‘not more than’:

There were up to 100 guests at the wedding.

[Inspector Morse is a popular British TV detective series]

Behind each episode of ‘Inspector Morse’, there’s a crew of up to 80 technicians who make the gentleman detective look his best.

Up as a particle

Up is commonly used as a particle in phrasal verbs:

He was brought up by his grandmother.

Don’t give up. You will find a job.

What time did you wake up this morning?

Up is also commonly used as an adverb particle followed by a preposition in phrasal prepositional verbs:

I had to run to catch up with Elaine. She walks so fast.

I’ve always looked up to my older brother.

You’ll find other phrases that use up as a particle in a good learner’s dictionary.