Phrasal verb
ball up
Definition
phrasal verb. to squeeze or fold something into the shape of a small round ball.
phrasal verb. to compress a flexible material, typically paper or fabric, into a spherical shape; can also describe a person curling their body or hands into a tight, rounded position.
Examples
“He balls up the paper and throws it away.”
“She was so frustrated that she balled up her fists and took a deep breath.”
“The artist would ball up his sketches and toss them into the corner whenever he felt his creative vision was failing him.”
Examples
simple
“He balls up the paper and throws it away.”
contextual
“She was so frustrated that she balled up her fists and took a deep breath.”
complex
“The artist would ball up his sketches and toss them into the corner whenever he felt his creative vision was failing him.”
Usage
usually used with materials like paper, cloth, or parts of the body like fists.
Teaching tip
this is a highly visual verb; you can demonstrate it with a piece of scrap paper to help students remember the physical action.
Pitfall
He balled the paper up it.
He balled the paper up.
when using a pronoun like 'it', it must come between the verb and the particle or after the particle, but you cannot repeat the object.
Phrasal verb
Particles
up
Separability
optional
Pattern
ball + (object) + up