clean 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: clean UP. Saying “CLEAN up” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
Link across the gap. The final /n/ of “clean” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “clean up” is said “clea-nup”. 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 clean UP, the noun is CLEANUP. Same two words, different beat — “to clean UP” is the action, “a cleanup” is the thing. Getting this backwards makes the sentence land oddly even when every sound is right.
What it means
To tidy a place or remove a mess completely.
- “Oliver cleaned up the mess before his parents got home.”
- “Oliver cleaned it up without being asked.”
Similar: tidy, clear up