Language of the Day: Up To
The phrasal verb “up to” has multiple meaning that we’ll learn about in this Language of the Day blog post!
A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and a preposition that takes on an idiomatic or nonliteral meaning. There are a few different ways to use the phrasal verb, ‘up to.’ Let’s look at some definitions and examples below.
1. As far as or indicating a maximum amount:
“I am available to work up to 8 hours every day.”
“We walked up to the lake but didn’t go in because the water was too cold.”
“I watched the movie up to the part where the main character gets his super powers.”
2. How you are doing or what you are doing:
What are you up to this weekend?
I invited her to join us but she said that she’s had a long week and isn’t up to going out tonight.”
I was supposed to go to the beach yesterday but I wasn’t feeling up to it so I stayed home.”
3. Someone’s choice or decision:
If it was up to me, I would let the customers return sale items, but it’s against store policy.”
I’m taking online courses with pre-recorded lectures so it’s up to me to create a study schedule.”
It’s her birthday, so we should leave it up to her to pick the restaurant and I’ll make the reservations.”
