ENGLISH
REFERENCE

be up

phr. v..
A2 Elementary Oxford

phr. v.. to be awake and out of bed; also means that a period of time has finished.

phr. v.. to be awake and in a standing or active state after sleep; alternatively, to have reached the end of a specific time limit.


SIMPLE

I have been up since six this morning.

CONTEXTUAL

The teacher told the students that their time was up and they had to stop writing.

COMPLEX

Despite the late hour, several lights were still on in the house, suggesting that the family was still up.

Particles
up
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
be + up
Usage

often used with 'since' for time or as a standalone predicate for expired time.

Teaching tip

this phrasal verb is intransitive and functions as a state; distinguish between the 'awake' sense and the 'expired time' sense which is common in testing environments.

Pitfall

I am up from 7:00.I have been up since 7:00.use 'since' to show the starting point of being awake, and use the present perfect for a state continuing until now.

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