Grammar and Cleaning, Part 2
2023-08-25
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1Cleaning is one of those activities that we have to do.
2But what kinds of words and structures do we use to talk about this common activity?
3In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore a few ways to talk about cleaning.
4This lesson builds on the ideas of a recent lesson that explored verbs and objects.
5Today we will explore phrasal verbs that connect to cleaning.
6Phrasal verbs are groups of words. They include a verb and another short word or words.
7Together, these groups of words take on a different meaning from what the individual words suggest.
8There are many phrasal verbs in English.
9But we only use a small number of these when we talk about cleaning.
10In this lesson, we will explore three phrasal verbs that connect with cleaning.
11All of them involve the short word "up."
12The phrasal verbs are "clean up," "pick up," and "wash up."
13Let's explore each of these in turn.
14"Clean up" has a few closely related meanings.
15It means to remove dirt or waste.
16It also means to make a room clean and orderly.
17"Clean up" comes in a few different forms.
18Sometimes we use clean up without a noun or noun phrase after it, as in:
19"Let's take some time to clean up."
20But we often use a noun or noun phrase with clean up, as in "clean up something."
21So, you might say:
22"I need to clean up the kitchen."
23Or,
24"He needs to clean up his room."
25In our example, the noun phrases "the kitchen" and "his room" come after the phrasal verb.
26But you should know that sometimes we use the noun or noun phrase in between "clean" and the short word "up," as in "clean something up."
27So, you might hear a person say:
28"She needs to clean this mess up."
29You might be worried about these two forms - the one in which the noun or noun phrase comes in the middle of the phrasal verb and the one in which the noun or noun phrase comes after it.
30The good news is that your meaning will still be understood regardless of which form you choose.
31In other words, these two statements have the same basic meaning in most situations:
32"She needs to clean this mess up."
33And,
34"She needs to clean up this mess."
35Our second phrasal verb is "pick up."
36"Pick up" has a few different meanings in different situations.
37But when we are talking about cleaning, we use it to mean the action of lifting something from the floor, ground, or other low surface.
38Once again, we use "pick up" with a noun or noun phrase.
39And just like "clean up," "pick up" can have the noun phrase come after the phrasal verb or in the middle of the phrasal verb.
40So, you might hear a person say:
41"Could you pick up those toys?"
42Or,
43"Could you pick those toys up?"
44Once again, the two forms have the same meaning although the grammar - the noun phrase placement - is a little different.
45Here is another example.
46Imagine a situation in which a little baby has thrown some toys on the ground.
47A person might say:
48"I will pick up the toys."
49Or,
50"I will pick the toys up."
51Our final phrasal verb is "wash up."
52When we talk about cleaning, we generally use "wash up" in the sense of washing your hands, face, or dishes.
53So, you might hear a person say:
54"I need to wash up before we go to the concert."
55Or,
56"We need to wash up the dishes before we go to bed."
57An important point about phrasal verbs.
58The short word at the end of the phrasal verb determines the meaning.
59So, by paying careful attention to the short word or words, you will improve your ability to use the correct phrasal verb at the right time.
60That is why we chose to use phrasal verbs only with "up" for this lesson.
61Now, whenever you talk about cleaning, you will remember that you can use several phrasal verbs that end in "up," - clean up, pick up, and wash up.
62I'm John Russell.
1Cleaning is one of those activities that we have to do. But what kinds of words and structures do we use to talk about this common activity? 2In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore a few ways to talk about cleaning. This lesson builds on the ideas of a recent lesson that explored verbs and objects. 3Today we will explore phrasal verbs that connect to cleaning. 4Phrasal verbs 5Phrasal verbs are groups of words. They include a verb and another short word or words. Together, these groups of words take on a different meaning from what the individual words suggest. 6There are many phrasal verbs in English. But we only use a small number of these when we talk about cleaning. 7In this lesson, we will explore three phrasal verbs that connect with cleaning. All of them involve the short word "up." 8The phrasal verbs are "clean up," "pick up," and "wash up." Let's explore each of these in turn. 9Clean up 10"Clean up" has a few closely related meanings. It means to remove dirt or waste. It also means to make a room clean and orderly. 11"Clean up" comes in a few different forms. Sometimes we use clean up without a noun or noun phrase after it, as in: 12"Let's take some time to clean up." 13But we often use a noun or noun phrase with clean up, as in "clean up something." 14So, you might say: 15"I need to clean up the kitchen." 16Or, 17"He needs to clean up his room." 18In our example, the noun phrases "the kitchen" and "his room" come after the phrasal verb. 19But you should know that sometimes we use the noun or noun phrase in between "clean" and the short word "up," as in "clean something up." 20So, you might hear a person say: 21"She needs to clean this mess up." 22You might be worried about these two forms - the one in which the noun or noun phrase comes in the middle of the phrasal verb and the one in which the noun or noun phrase comes after it. 23The good news is that your meaning will still be understood regardless of which form you choose. 24In other words, these two statements have the same basic meaning in most situations: 25"She needs to clean this mess up." 26And, 27"She needs to clean up this mess." 28Pick up 29Our second phrasal verb is "pick up." "Pick up" has a few different meanings in different situations. But when we are talking about cleaning, we use it to mean the action of lifting something from the floor, ground, or other low surface. 30Once again, we use "pick up" with a noun or noun phrase. And just like "clean up," "pick up" can have the noun phrase come after the phrasal verb or in the middle of the phrasal verb. 31So, you might hear a person say: 32"Could you pick up those toys?" 33Or, 34"Could you pick those toys up?" 35Once again, the two forms have the same meaning although the grammar - the noun phrase placement - is a little different. 36Here is another example. Imagine a situation in which a little baby has thrown some toys on the ground. A person might say: 37"I will pick up the toys." 38Or, 39"I will pick the toys up." 40Wash up 41Our final phrasal verb is "wash up." 42When we talk about cleaning, we generally use "wash up" in the sense of washing your hands, face, or dishes. 43So, you might hear a person say: 44"I need to wash up before we go to the concert." 45Or, 46"We need to wash up the dishes before we go to bed." 47The ending is important 48An important point about phrasal verbs. The short word at the end of the phrasal verb determines the meaning. So, by paying careful attention to the short word or words, you will improve your ability to use the correct phrasal verb at the right time. 49That is why we chose to use phrasal verbs only with "up" for this lesson. Now, whenever you talk about cleaning, you will remember that you can use several phrasal verbs that end in "up," - clean up, pick up, and wash up. 50I'm John Russell. 51John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 52______________________________________________ 53Words in This Story 54phrase - n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence 55regardless - adv. without being affected by (something) 56determine - v. to establish (something) exactly; to be the cause of or reason for (something)