ENGLISH
REFERENCE

get up to

phr. v..
B1 Intermediate Oxford British English Informal

phr. v.. to do something, especially something secret or slightly bad that you should not be doing.

phr. v.. to be involved in or busy with a particular activity, often with an implication of mischief, secrecy, or minor misconduct.


SIMPLE

What did you get up to last weekend?

CONTEXTUAL

The children are very quiet, which usually means they are getting up to no good.

COMPLEX

While the manager was away on business, the junior staff got up to all sorts of antics that would never have been permitted under his supervision.

Particles
up to
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
get + up + to + object
Usage

often used in questions about free time or to describe children's behavior.

Teaching tip

highlight the common collocation 'get up to no good' as it perfectly captures the slightly mischievous nuance of this phrasal verb.

Pitfall

What did you get up to it?What did you get up to?the phrase is often used intransitively at the end of a question, so do not add an extra 'it' as an object.

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