Phrasal verb
turn sth up
Definition
phrasal verb. to increase the volume, heat, or power of a machine or device.
phrasal verb. to increase the intensity, volume, or output of an appliance or system by adjusting its controls.
Examples
“Can you turn the radio up? I love this song.”
“It was getting quite cold in the living room, so he decided to turn the heating up.”
“The lead guitarist turned his amplifier up so high that the rest of the band struggled to hear their own instruments during the soundcheck.”
Examples
simple
“Can you turn the radio up? I love this song.”
contextual
“It was getting quite cold in the living room, so he decided to turn the heating up.”
complex
“The lead guitarist turned his amplifier up so high that the rest of the band struggled to hear their own instruments during the soundcheck.”
Usage
usually used with devices like radios, heaters, ovens, or lights.
Teaching tip
this is a separable phrasal verb; remind students that if they use a pronoun like 'it', it must go in the middle: 'turn it up'.
Pitfall
Turn up it.
Turn it up.
when the object is a pronoun, it must be placed between the verb and the particle.
Phrasal verb
Particles
up
Separability
optional
Pattern
turn (+ object) + up (+ object)
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/turn-sth-up