Phrasal verb
bring sb up
Definition
phrasal verb. to care for a child and teach them how to behave until they are an adult.
phrasal verb. to raise a child; to provide the necessary care, education, and moral guidance during a child's development into adulthood.
Examples
“My parents brought me up to be polite.”
“She was brought up by her grandmother in a small village near the coast.”
“The study examines how children who are brought up in bilingual households develop cognitive flexibility more rapidly than their monolingual peers.”
Examples
simple
“My parents brought me up to be polite.”
contextual
“She was brought up by her grandmother in a small village near the coast.”
complex
“The study examines how children who are brought up in bilingual households develop cognitive flexibility more rapidly than their monolingual peers.”
Usage
often used in the passive voice ('be brought up') to describe someone's childhood background.
Teaching tip
contrast with 'grow up' (the child's own action) to help students avoid using 'bring up' as an intransitive verb.
Pitfall
I was grown up in London.
I was brought up in London.
use 'bring up' in the passive for the action of being raised; 'grow up' is what the child does and cannot be passive.
Phrasal verb
Particles
up
Separability
optional
Pattern
bring + object + up
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/bring-sb-up