set 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: set UP. Saying “SET up” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
The /t/ flaps. Between vowels, American /t/ and /d/ both become a quick tap, so “set up” comes out as “se-dup” — closer to a fast D than a T. Drop a pronoun in the middle and it flaps twice: “set it up” → “se-di-dup”.
Verb vs noun
As a noun the stress flips to the front: the verb is set UP, the noun is SETUP. Same two words, different beat — “to set UP” is the action, “a setup” is the thing. Getting this backwards makes the sentence land oddly even when every sound is right.
3 meanings
- 1
To assemble or install something so it is ready to use.
- “They set up the new lab equipment yesterday.”
- “It took an hour to set the tent up.”
Similar: assemble, install
- 2
To establish an organisation or arrange an event.
- “She set up her own agency at twenty-eight.”
- “Can you set up a call for Thursday?”
Similar: establish, arrange
- 3
To trick someone into appearing guilty.
informal- “He insisted he'd been set up.”
Similar: frame