
When should you add up to different words? Find out today
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Aubrey Carter
This is an Allers English podcast. Episode 2386. Wait up. English phrasal verbs for softening Imperatives.
Lindsey McMahon
Welcome to the All Ears English podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection, with your American host, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz and Lindsey McMahon, the English adventurer, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, usa. And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com subscribe when it comes to verbs, how and when do you add the preposition up to to make it more casual today, get the ins and outs of adding up to a verb in English. It's spring Black Friday at the Home Depot. So what are you working on? If you're sprucing up your lawn, you know there's no such thing as too much mulch, so don't miss this special. Buy five bags of Scott's EarthGrow mulch for only $10 at the home Depot. Promote healthier soil, prevent weeds, and beautify your yard with mulch that maintains its color for up to 12 shop 14 days of deals during spring Black Friday, now through April 16 at the home Depot. Hello, Aubrey. How's it going today?
Aubrey Carter
I'm great, Lindsay. How are you?
Lindsey McMahon
Good. Good. Have you ever h heard anyone say the expression wait up, wait up?
Aubrey Carter
Absolutely, Yes. I say this, too. My husband a lot. He is notorious for walking, like, six steps ahead of me. Wherever we're going, we'll get out of the car and he's, like, headed to the restaurant. I'll be like, wait up. Like, hold my hand while we're walking. He just doesn't notice. He's just, like, totally hurrying to get wherever we're going.
Lindsey McMahon
I am in the same situation with my partner, and this came up, I think, when I was in New York, and my partner also walks a lot faster than I do. And I. I remember we came out of a shop and I said, hey, wait up. Hey, wait up.
Aubrey Carter
Right? And I'm.
Lindsey McMahon
I'm running to try to keep up here.
Aubrey Carter
Don't ditch me. That's kind of a fun expression, too. Just means, like, you're leaving me. You're, like, ahead of me, right? Wait for me.
Lindsey McMahon
Yeah. Aubrey, do you feel like your walking's gotten slower over the years? Because I kind of do. I feel like I used to be when I lived in New York or even Boston, I used to be faster with my walk.
Aubrey Carter
No one walks as fast as New Yorkers no matter what. We. Yes, exactly. With jaywalking constantly, just like quickly walking across streets.
Lindsey McMahon
Oh, for sure, for sure. So my gates kind of slowed down, but so I'm often saying this to people. Hey, wait up. Hey, wait up. Right? Love it.
Aubrey Carter
Yes. And I'm so excited to dive into this today. There are so many phrasal verbs that we use in English that have up, so we're sharing the most common ones today. You guys definitely want to add these to your conversations.
Lindsey McMahon
Love it. This is going to be a hint of real English today. And we do want to make sure you guys know that our professional English Level 1 course is coming out very, very soon, like in a few weeks. Aubry, what should our listeners do to make sure they are the first to hear about this course?
Aubrey Carter
Yes. You want to get on the list? Go to allersenglish.com professional this is going to be a fantastic course with a heavy focus on meetings, speaking, socializing and small talk. All of the skills that you guys need in English.
Lindsey McMahon
Yeah. We really took time to listen to our, our listeners and chat with you all about what are the main pain points that you're experiencing in your career, Whether you're working in engineering or software or the medical world or the legal world, you're a lawyer. What are the things that you struggle with the most? And some of these things were meeting type situations. It doesn't always mean an official boardroom meeting. It could mean a standup meeting with three or four other engineers. That can be stressful updates, speaking fluency as well as socializing and small talk. So we've put a heavy focus on these key pieces in professional level one, plus other things like grammar, vocabulary, the things we need to know to succeed at work. All right.
Aubrey Carter
Yes. We are so excited for you guys to check out this course. So be the first to know. Go to allersenglish.com professional yes.
Lindsey McMahon
Excellent. Well, let's dive deeper into today's topic. Aubrey, where shall we start?
Aubrey Carter
All right, so today we're focusing on imperative phrasal verbs. So these are verbs that give a command or make a request, maybe give advice. But what we do is we add up to soften them a little. Because if you just say wait, it's very urgent. Yeah, right. Like someone's going to stop, panicked.
Lindsey McMahon
Right.
Aubrey Carter
Wait up. Softens it a little bit, a little bit less urgency.
Lindsey McMahon
You're right. Weight does sound a lot more serious, a lot more urgent. But wait up is more, I don't know, it's more casual, more friendly, kind.
Aubrey Carter
Of imagine Your partner's leaving that story and you're like, wait.
Lindsey McMahon
Right, What. What happened? Yeah, exactly.
Aubrey Carter
Up is just like, wait for me.
Lindsey McMahon
Hey, wait up. Right. All right, good.
Aubrey Carter
So let's do a little mini role play here because. Yeah, let's do this. I'll. I'll start us. Yeah. Are you leaving right now?
Lindsey McMahon
Yeah, in five minutes.
Aubrey Carter
Oh, wait up. I'll come with you.
Lindsey McMahon
Nice. And I could see using this at work as well as in our daily lives. Maybe your co workers going downstairs for a coffee and you want to join them even though you're at work. We are human beings at work and we do say things like this, hey, wait up. I'll join you for a coffee.
Aubrey Carter
Right, Absolutely. And you could say, wait, I'll come with you. But it's much less common because we often, often add this up just to soften it a little bit.
Lindsey McMahon
And again, it always depends on who we're talking to at work. Are we talking to a close co worker versus a boss that we never talk with? We might select wait if it's that scenario. Right, right.
Aubrey Carter
Or wait just a second. Right. Maybe we'll add a few words.
Lindsey McMahon
Yeah. Love this idea of adding the up and changing the meaning slightly. Let's see. What, what other words, what other verbs do this? What are they?
Aubrey Carter
We also do it with open up. Imagine, you know, if you just said open that or open it instead of, you know, open it up. I don't know. It's interesting how it's. It's almost more of an idiomatic meaning, too. We use it most often idiomatically to talk about being vulnerable or open. Right, right. I need them to open up. Meaning, like, I need them to be vulnerable. I need them to be honest.
Lindsey McMahon
Yeah, it's true. So we do use it psychologically. Maybe you're talking with your therapist and you need to open up more than you would ver or physical. Right. Hey, open up, Open up. I want to come in and I want to be the first customer to buy something.
Aubrey Carter
Open the door, Open up. Yeah, and. And like gifts. Right? Here's a. A quick role play, how you would use this for, like, opening presents.
Lindsey McMahon
Hey, I got you a present.
Aubrey Carter
Oh, thanks. That's exciting.
Lindsey McMahon
Open it up. Right. So we hear this a lot on maybe if you celebrate Christmas or other holidays, birthdays. Come on, open it up. Open it up. I'm so excited.
Aubrey Carter
Yes. And it is interesting this, the slight change if you said open does feel a little more like a command. Like that just softens it just a little bit. To say open it up.
Lindsey McMahon
And it would be okay if you said open it, but it does feel, I don't know, more serious.
Aubrey Carter
Urgent.
Lindsey McMahon
Yes, exactly. Interesting. And then hurry up. Love this one. Hurry up right now.
Aubrey Carter
So we could say hurry, but it softens it a little to say hurry. Actually, this is an interesting one because I think if you say hurry up, depending on the tone, it could almost be more harsh. Hurry up.
Lindsey McMahon
Right. However you place the emphasis with the up could change the meaning even more.
Aubrey Carter
Exactly. Let's do a role play where this would soften it a little. Instead of saying like, hurry, we're going to be late, I might say, hurry up, we're going to be late.
Lindsey McMahon
Yeah. All right.
Aubrey Carter
You want to say, what would you. How would you respond?
Lindsey McMahon
Hey, what time were we supposed to be there?
Aubrey Carter
Seven. Right. So I'm starting with like, okay, hurry up, we're going to be late. I'm trying to stop in that. If I said like, hurry.
Lindsey McMahon
Yeah, I just.
Aubrey Carter
But it's all about intonation with that one.
Lindsey McMahon
And today's episode is all about giving our listeners options. You know, you could mix it up. Try. You try the hurry and try hurry it up another time and see how it feels. See how people respond to you. That's what it is to build fluency.
Aubrey Carter
Yes. I have a little bonus here. Have you ever heard anyone say, where's your hurry? Like, if you're moving really slowly, I'm gonna be like, where's your hurry?
Lindsey McMahon
I think I grew up.
Aubrey Carter
My dad said this a lot.
Lindsey McMahon
Okay, interesting. I haven't. I mean, I've heard it, but no one uses it in my world. So that's interesting.
Aubrey Carter
It might be more regional. Interesting. You might hear that someone saying, where's your hurry? And what they mean is hurry up. You're being very slow.
Lindsey McMahon
Where's your hurry? I love that. I love that. It's a good one. And then eat up. Right. And I've seen different brand. Brand names will take this phrase. I feel like I've seen like the eat up cafe somewhere or something, you know?
Aubrey Carter
Yeah. And this is really interesting where there are times where I would not say eat, but I'd say eat up. Like, here's a role play where eat up makes a lot more sense.
Lindsey McMahon
Okay. Thank you for inviting me to dinner.
Aubrey Carter
I hope you like it. Eat up.
Lindsey McMahon
Yeah. So this was really interesting. Right. When would you say eat versus eat up? Because you wouldn't say. If you had friends over, you wouldn't just say, I hope you like it. Eat alone. Eat.
Aubrey Carter
I would maybe Say that is if my children were refusing to eat what I had made. And I'm telling them over and over, insisting I'm like, eat. Just eat it.
Lindsey McMahon
Right? Yeah.
Aubrey Carter
It's rare. It's rare that you're going to give that command, eat.
Lindsey McMahon
Yeah, I love it. So this makes it more friendly, allows it to be a command. Right. With anyone other than your kids when you're angry at them. Right.
Aubrey Carter
And another option here is dig in. This is even more common. Instead of saying eat up, you might say, dig in.
Lindsey McMahon
Yeah, Very casual, but great. Love it. Yes, love it.
Aubrey Carter
And drink similarly. Drink up. Yeah, yeah, same thing. You're not gonna be like, drink. Yeah, but we'll say drink up. Like, have a drink.
Lindsey McMahon
Exactly. So, for example, this wedding venue is so beautiful.
Aubrey Carter
Thanks for coming. It's an open bar, so drink up.
Lindsey McMahon
Oh, dangerous.
Aubrey Carter
We had very dangerous.
Lindsey McMahon
We had some really good mixed drinks at my wedding. And then a lot of people were very, very.
Aubrey Carter
I can imagine. That's how as a wedding should be. Yeah, that's how Wedding.
Lindsey McMahon
Right. That's normal, I guess.
Aubrey Carter
But you would never say, you know, it's an open drink.
Lindsey McMahon
Right. Drink. It just doesn't work. You need that extra up to make it friendly, make it casual, make it positive. Right?
Aubrey Carter
Yes. And there are other ways to say this. You could say, so help yourselves, so go grab a drink. Right. But you can also say, so drink up.
Lindsey McMahon
No, I love it. And it does make it more casual than saying something like, please help yourself. That would be more formal.
Aubrey Carter
A little more formal.
Lindsey McMahon
Yeah, exactly.
Aubrey Carter
Love it.
Lindsey McMahon
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Aubrey Carter
Yeah. It's your birthday. I'm at my friend Lindsay's birthday dinner.
Lindsey McMahon
My birthday. Okay, here we go.
Aubrey Carter
I'll start us out. Yes. Megan is late. I told her to hurry up and get here or we're going to order without her.
Lindsey McMahon
We can wait if it's okay with you guys.
Aubrey Carter
Yeah, no worries. We're in no rush. You could wait and open your gifts after dessert for sure.
Lindsey McMahon
Thank you all for coming.
Aubrey Carter
Drink up, everyone. Next round's on me.
Lindsey McMahon
Oh, nice. Nice. Good stuff. Lively birthday party here.
Aubrey Carter
So you started, but Megan is late. How dare you.
Lindsey McMahon
Not good. Not good. So, and then. So we have our first up here. You said, I told her to hurry up. Now could you have said, I told her to hurry and get here? It makes it more serious, right?
Aubrey Carter
Yeah, it's interesting. I told her to hurry and get here or we're going to. I feel like hurry and hurry up is the one exception of all of them today that depending on the intonation, hurry up could actually sound more urgent. Right? I told her, hurry and get here or we're going to order without her. But then if I say I told her to hurry up and get here. Yeah, I'm changing my intonation and it sounds even more urgent or like I was even more impatient with her for being slow.
Lindsey McMahon
Oh, interesting. Okay, so that one might be a little bit different. And again, I'm going to encourage our listeners just to listen for this. Listen for hurry. Listen for hurry up. And look at the scenarios in which they're used differently. Right after we finish today.
Aubrey Carter
And then this next one, there's no up. And I want you guys to notice why Lindsay said we can wait if it's okay with you guys. If she said wait up, that would be strange. It would not fit here because this is where the verb wait is the only thing that fits. Weight up has a very specific meaning of like, wait for me.
Lindsey McMahon
Exactly. That's a really good trick here, right? It would be very strange. Again, it's when someone has gone ahead of you physically and you are, you know, your hands in the air. Hey, wait up. Wait up. Just imagine me chasing after someone on the streets of New York in a way.
Aubrey Carter
Right? And I just thought of a bonus. We say This a lot as well. When we're talking about retiring for the night, like going to bed, like, I'll wait up for you. I won't go to sleep before you do. We say that a lot.
Lindsey McMahon
I'll wait up.
Aubrey Carter
Oh, can you wait up for me? I'll be there in 10 minutes.
Lindsey McMahon
Yeah, I feel like that's different, right? Because it's like I'm gonna wait awake. It's like when I think of wait up, I'm saying, I'm gonna wait being awake. You know what I mean?
Aubrey Carter
I'm not going to go to sleep before you. Interesting. That's more idiomatic, right?
Lindsey McMahon
Totally. More different meaning kind of in a way, right?
Aubrey Carter
Essentially interesting, but the exact same words. This is why phrasal verbs are so confusing.
Lindsey McMahon
This is why we love English. All right, and then what else?
Aubrey Carter
Else?
Lindsey McMahon
What else?
Aubrey Carter
I said you could wait and open up your gifts after dessert. This is one where open would mean the exact same. You could use both, right? You could wait and open your gifts after dessert. Both work. You can open up your gifts or open your gifts, and you might use.
Lindsey McMahon
Both in the same sentence. You might say, oh, we'll open gifts later. And then it comes time. Oh, come on, open it up. And you're moving back and forth between the two. That's the most common scenario you're gonna.
Aubrey Carter
See for native speakers. And the difference is when it's a command, right? In this sentence, it's not a command. You could wait and open your gifts after dessert. But when it become a com. A command saying open it is so much more urgent seeming than open it up.
Lindsey McMahon
Yes. All right. Love it. And then the next one. So I said, for sure. Thank you all for coming. And then you said, drink up, everyone. Next round's on me. Yes. So in this scenario, when you're making an announcement, maybe you're holding a glass up, it would be weird to say, drink, everyone.
Aubrey Carter
Drink, everyone.
Lindsey McMahon
You need a little something more to. To make it feel less awkward, right?
Aubrey Carter
Yes. This drink up is all is a more of an expression that means like, it's like, I'll have a drink. It's much more casual and friendly. More like a toast.
Lindsey McMahon
More like a toast. Exactly. Exactly. Wow. This is a super nuanced topic, Aubry. But I'm glad we went into it today.
Aubrey Carter
Same. There are so many phrasal verbs where we add up. We also do this a lot at work. There are phrasal verbs that we use both at work and in conversations, like hold up, up, keep up. So we're going to do a part two over on Business English. Make sure you're following over there as well so you don't miss it.
Lindsey McMahon
So open the search bar right now. Type in business English and you'll see the yellow. All of our shows are bright yellow. And go ahead and hit that follow button on business English and then tune in over there to get the part two. Aubry, what is our takeaway today?
Aubrey Carter
Yeah, well, when you are giving a command, when you're using an imperative verb, it is often important to soften it and adding up is the best way to do that. You you will impression if you use an imperative verb like wait, open it of urgency and if you don't, if you want to be less urgent, be more casual. Add up.
Lindsey McMahon
Yeah, exactly. And remember that as we make things more casual, it makes it easier to connect and that's what we're always going for.
Aubrey Carter
Absolutely.
Lindsey McMahon
So don't put pressure on yourself. If if something was confusing from today's episode, listen again and then start listening to native English to identify when people are adding this up. You're looking for patterns, right, Aubrey? Love it.
Aubrey Carter
Absolutely. You're going to notice it. We do this a lot.
Lindsey McMahon
Yes. And one last thing for our listeners to do right now, guys, go to allearsenglish.com professional to get on the early access list. You'll be the first to hear when our course goes live. Professional English level one coming very soon. Super excited.
Aubrey Carter
Yes. You do not want to miss this course. We are super excited about it and you want to get on the list. So go to allersenglish.com professional Excellent.
Lindsey McMahon
And we'll see. See you there, Aubrey. Have a good day. Talk to you soon.
Aubrey Carter
Awesome.
Lindsey McMahon
All right, see you next time. Bye. Thanks for listening to all ears. English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com forward/fluency score. And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.
All Ears English Podcast - Episode 2386: "Wait Up! English Phrasal Verbs for Softening Imperatives"
Release Date: April 7, 2025
In Episode 2386 of the All Ears English Podcast, hosts Lindsay McMahon and Aubrey Carter delve into the nuanced world of English phrasal verbs, specifically focusing on how adding "up" to imperative verbs can soften commands and make conversations more casual and friendly. This episode is tailored for intermediate to advanced English learners seeking to enhance their conversational skills and understand subtle language cues in American English.
The episode kicks off with personal stories from both hosts about the usage of the phrase "wait up." Lindsay shares her experience with her partner's fast walking pace:
[01:39] Lindsay McMahon: "Have you ever heard anyone say the expression wait up? Absolutely, Yes. I say this too. My husband a lot. He is notorious for walking, like, six steps ahead of me."
Aubrey relates a similar scenario, emphasizing the relatability of the phrase:
[01:46] Aubrey Carter: "I'll be like, wait up. Like, hold my hand while we're walking. He just doesn't notice."
These anecdotes set the stage for exploring how such phrases are embedded in everyday interactions.
Aubrey introduces the main topic by explaining the role of "up" in phrasal verbs used as imperatives:
[04:31] Aubrey Carter: "Today we're focusing on imperative phrasal verbs. So these are verbs that give a command or make a request, maybe give advice. But what we do is we add up to soften them a little."
Lindsay adds that this addition makes commands less urgent and more friendly:
[04:53] Lindsay McMahon: "You're right. 'Wait' does sound a lot more serious, a lot more urgent. But 'wait up' is more, I don't know, it's more casual, more friendly, kind."
The hosts provide concrete examples and engage in role plays to illustrate the practical usage of various phrasal verbs with "up."
They demonstrate how "wait up" can be used in different contexts, such as joining coworkers for coffee:
[05:22] Lindsay McMahon: "You could say, wait up, I'll join you for a coffee."
Aubrey emphasizes the flexibility of the phrase:
[05:37] Aubrey Carter: "You could say, 'wait, I'll come with you,' but it's much less common because we often add this up just to soften it a little bit."
The discussion shifts to "open up," highlighting its idiomatic use in both physical and emotional contexts:
[06:10] Aubrey Carter: "We also do it with open up. Imagine, if you just said open that or open it instead of, open it up."
Lindsay provides an example related to receiving gifts:
[06:56] Lindsay McMahon: "Hey, I got you a present. Open it up."
The phrase "hurry up" is analyzed for its potential to sound harsh depending on intonation:
[07:32] Aubrey Carter: "We could say hurry, but it softens it a little to say hurry up, we're going to be late."
Through role play, they show how intonation can change the perception of urgency:
[08:14] Lindsay McMahon: "You could mix it up. Try 'hurry' and try 'hurry up' another time and see how it feels."
Aubrey and Lindsay explore how "eat up" and "drink up" make commands more friendly and less authoritative:
[09:14] Aubrey Carter: "I hope you like it. Eat up."
[10:01] Aubrey Carter: "Drink up, everyone. Next round's on me."
They contrast these with the more direct "eat" and "drink," noting the added friendliness:
[10:52] Lindsay McMahon: "'Drink' just doesn't work. You need that extra 'up' to make it friendly, make it casual, make it positive."
The hosts delve into how subtle differences in intonation can alter the meaning and perceived urgency of phrases like "hurry" versus "hurry up":
[13:45] Lindsay McMahon: "Hurry up could actually sound more urgent. I told her, 'hurry and get here,' but if I say 'hurry up and get here,' it sounds even more urgent."
Aubrey adds that noticing these nuances is key to building fluency:
[15:02] Lindsay McMahon: "Listen for 'hurry,' listen for 'hurry up,' and look at the scenarios in which they're used differently."
As the episode wraps up, Aubrey summarizes the core lesson:
[16:59] Aubrey Carter: "When you are giving a command, when you're using an imperative verb, it is often important to soften it and adding up is the best way to do that."
Lindsay reinforces the importance of making conversations more casual to foster connections:
[17:19] Lindsay McMahon: "Remember that as we make things more casual, it makes it easier to connect, and that's what we're always going for."
The hosts encourage listeners to practice these phrasal verbs in various contexts to internalize their usage and enhance conversational fluency.
Softening Commands: Adding "up" to imperative verbs like "wait," "open," "hurry," "eat," and "drink" can soften commands, making them sound more casual and friendly.
Context Matters: The appropriateness of using phrases like "wait up" depends on the relationship between the speakers and the situation.
Intonation's Role: The tone and emphasis placed on "up" can significantly alter the perceived urgency or friendliness of the command.
Idiomatic Usage: Phrasal verbs with "up" often carry idiomatic meanings that extend beyond their literal interpretations.
Aubrey Carter [04:31]: "Today we're focusing on imperative phrasal verbs. So these are verbs that give a command or make a request, maybe give advice. But what we do is we add up to soften them a little."
Lindsay McMahon [05:02]: "Weight does sound a lot more serious, a lot more urgent. But wait up is more, I don't know, it's more casual, more friendly, kind."
Aubrey Carter [11:35]: "It's interesting how it's almost more of an idiomatic meaning, too. We use it most often idiomatically to talk about being vulnerable or open."
Episode 2386 of the All Ears English Podcast offers valuable insights into the subtle art of using phrasal verbs with "up" to enhance conversational English. By understanding and practicing these phrases, listeners can make their speech sound more natural, friendly, and less commanding, thereby improving their overall fluency and connection with native speakers.
For more episodes and resources, visit AllEarsEnglish.com.