Phrasal verb
make sth up
Definition
phrasal verb. to invent a story, an excuse, or information that is not true.
phrasal verb. to fabricate or invent information, often for the purpose of deception or entertainment; transitive and optionally separable.
Examples
“I had to make up an excuse for being late.”
“The children love to make up stories about dragons and magic before they go to sleep.”
“When questioned by the police regarding his whereabouts, the suspect attempted to make up a complex alibi involving several fictional witnesses.”
Examples
simple
“I had to make up an excuse for being late.”
contextual
“The children love to make up stories about dragons and magic before they go to sleep.”
complex
“When questioned by the police regarding his whereabouts, the suspect attempted to make up a complex alibi involving several fictional witnesses.”
Usage
the object can be a noun like 'story', 'excuse', 'lie', or 'reason'.
Teaching tip
distinguish this sense of 'invent' from other senses of 'make up' such as 'reconcile after an argument' or 'apply cosmetics'.
Pitfall
He made up it.
He made it up.
when the object is a pronoun like 'it', it must go between the verb and the particle.
Phrasal verb
Particles
up
Separability
optional
Pattern
make + (object) + up