Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Grammar Girl, Grammar Girl's, QDnow, and Quick and Dirty Tips are all trademarks of Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Learn why “listen up” is different from “listen.” Kendall Rice grammar The uncertainty of ending a sentence with a phrasal verb's "preposition" is uncalled for, for the "up" in "kiss and make up" is an adverb, not a preposition. All doubters are invited to diagram it. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/phrasal-verbs.aspx?commentid=19380#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/phrasal-verbs.aspx?commentid=19380#Comments Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:28:17 GMT sarah grammar that is such good tips! http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/phrasal-verbs.aspx?commentid=17558#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/phrasal-verbs.aspx?commentid=17558#Comments Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:25:05 GMT LIA grammar grammer girl is very interesting http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/phrasal-verbs.aspx?commentid=16940#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/phrasal-verbs.aspx?commentid=16940#Comments Tue, 12 May 2009 13:25:43 GMT Ben grammar I'm a new subscriber, and I love this blog/podcast! To expound upon Don's comments, "hold up" can also mean to physically hold something at an often-unspecified height. "She held up the vase so he could take the key from its hiding place." (This one can also be split: "held the vase up...") Furthermore, I must thank you for helping me understand why it is that I often use "set up" as a verb, and "setup" as a noun. It always felt natural for me to use them in this manner, but I never understood why until now. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/phrasal-verbs.aspx?commentid=13116#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/phrasal-verbs.aspx?commentid=13116#Comments Sun, 13 Jul 2008 06:56:56 GMT Don grammar Grammar Girl, This was a great episode! but you've left me with questions! "Hold up" as you specified can mean to rob, or to cope, but it can also mean to delay. It can also be used as a noun for the delay and the robbery. As in "The hold-up occurred at noon." or "Aardvark, c'mon! What's the hold-up!?" My question is this: what part of speech do they become used in this way? A Phrasal Noun? Oh, and "fry-up" can also be a phrasal verb used as a noun. I lived in London for a while and it is so common to use "fry-up" to mean a meal (usually breakfast) specifically one that is prepared by frying its constituent parts. (A typical fry-up is eggs, sausages, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Often accompanied by a fried slice - bread toasted in the frying pan after the meal has been cooked in the same fat used to cook the rest of the meal.) I'm glad to hear that you have decided to post more often! Don http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/phrasal-verbs.aspx?commentid=13080#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/phrasal-verbs.aspx?commentid=13080#Comments Sat, 05 Jul 2008 17:57:02 GMT michael shepherd grammar Love all things grammatical ! (That's ungrammagtical for a start...) Phrasal verbs : '**** up' usages were originally, I believe, to convey a sense of completion of the action i.e. 'washing up'. there's also a hint of the 'intensive' which is now an official grammatical form ? As for 'hold-up' or 'he held up the cashier', I wonder if it doesn't live on because of the image 'Hands up !'... Gertrude Stein said, she enjoyed the American language because 'the words move like Americans move'... 'grammar' may have rules, but we'll never pin down 'usage' and long live lively language ! http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/phrasal-verbs.aspx?commentid=13079#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/phrasal-verbs.aspx?commentid=13079#Comments Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:00:14 GMT Old Coyote grammar Grammar Girl, I love you! You've just saved me from madness! Now that I know the why, the how and the origins of "I"m going to print out the data, then put the printout on your desk.", explication for dummies is made easy and madness is vanquished (at least temporarily). http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/phrasal-verbs.aspx?commentid=13077#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/phrasal-verbs.aspx?commentid=13077#Comments Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:11:46 GMT E. W. Parks grammar "Eat," and "eat up" don't have the same connotation. The latter is, of course, more colloquial, but it's also a friendly injunction not to hold back; to eat more ("go on; you eat like a bird"). Come to think of it, "Eat," or "Eat!" as requests or injunctions also have context-determined meanings: "Eat—we'll be late for the game," vs. "Eat! Stop playing with your food!" Simple expressions are seldom simple. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/phrasal-verbs.aspx?commentid=13076#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/phrasal-verbs.aspx?commentid=13076#Comments Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:48:59 GMT Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:28:17 GMT http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/phrasal-verbs.aspx feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Managing Editor) feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Webmaster) en-us