ENGLISH
REFERENCE

chop up

phr. v..
A2 Elementary Oxford

phr. v.. to cut something into many small pieces using a knife or a sharp tool.

phr. v.. to divide a solid object, typically food or wood, into multiple smaller fragments through repeated cutting or hacking motions.


SIMPLE

Please chop up the onions for the soup.

CONTEXTUAL

After the storm, we had to chop up the fallen branches to clear the driveway.

COMPLEX

The chef demonstrated how to chop up the herbs finely to ensure their oils were fully released into the sauce.

Particles
up
Separability
optional
Pattern
chop + (object) + up
Usage

commonly used with food items or wood; the object can go between 'chop' and 'up'.

Teaching tip

contrast with 'slice' (thin, even pieces) or 'dice' (small cubes); 'chop up' is more general and implies less precision.

Pitfall

Chop up it into pieces.Chop it up into pieces.when using a pronoun like 'it' or 'them', it must go between the verb and the particle.

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