bring up
SeparableThe object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: bring UP. Saying “BRING up” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
Link across the gap. The final /ŋ/ of “bring” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “bring up” is said “bri-ngup”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.
Verb vs noun
As a noun the stress flips to the front: the verb is bring UP, the noun is UPBRINGING. Same two words, different beat — “to bring UP” is the action, “a upbringing” is the thing. Getting this backwards makes the sentence land oddly even when every sound is right.
2 meanings
- 1
To mention a topic in conversation.
- “Don't bring up the layoffs while she's in the room.”
- “I brought it up at the meeting and nobody responded.”
Similar: raise, mention
- 2
To raise a child.
- “She was brought up by her grandparents in Ohio.”
- “They brought their children up to be independent.”
Similar: raise, rear