what's the meaning of "up" here?
when you put on a new dress or suit for fitting. The sales may say this:1)you shine up like a penny.
And sometime when we want to invite a firend to come to our party, we could say: 2) I hope you will show up at my party.
I heard president Obama say this: 3) when I was running for president, I promised to open up the white house to American people.

so I was wondering that if I can get rid of the "up" from that 1) , 2), 3)sentences. Then they would be like this:
1)you shine like penny.
2)when I was running for president, I promised to open the white house to American people
3) I hope you will show at my party.

Is that still right after changing? How to handle the usage of the word "up"? Does "up" have meaning here?

Thank you for helping me.

Question

what's the meaning of "up" here?
when you put on a new dress or suit for fitting.  The sales may say this:1)you shine up like a penny.
And sometime when we want to invite a firend to come to our party, we could say: 2) I hope you will show up at my party.
I heard president Obama say this: 3) when I was running for president, I promised to open up the white house to American people.

so I was wondering that if I can get rid of the "up" from that 1) , 2), 3)sentences.  Then they would be like this:
1)you shine like penny.
2)when I was running for president, I promised to open the white house to American people
3) I hope you will show at my party.
 
Is that still right after changing?  How to handle the usage of the word "up"? Does "up" have meaning here?

Thank you for helping me.

Answer

You can't leave "up" out in 1 and 2.  In 3 you can.

1)  "shine up" is similar to "clean up"  and "up" adds an idea that the penny is completely shiny (or the room is completely clean).

2)  "Open up" can mean to open something for the first time, but I think here Obama means that it will be more open than before.  Americans have always been able to go into the White House (maybe not right after 9/11) but it's pretty restricted.  He wants to say that it's easier to visit or people will know more about what is going on there (they give concerts there that are televised, they have dinners there with all kinds of famous people, etc.  People will know more about these.)

Two countries can have some trade going on, but they can have talks to "open up" trade, do more trade, make it easier to do business, increase the trade, etc.

3)  "Show up" and "show" both can mean "appear."  I would probably use them interchangeably.  However, to me it seems that "show up" is more like "appear at any time" and "show" is appear at an appointed time in formal situations.
I'm a US speaker, so others might not say have the same preference.

I would use "show" in these two sentences, but they are also correct with "up".

"I was supposed to meet Jack at 9:00 am, but he didn't show."
"Tom Cruise was scheduled to meet with fans after the movie, but he didn't show."

I would use "show up" in these two,  but "show" would also be correct.

"I was at the party until 12:00 midnight and Jack never showed up." 
"The dead deer has been in the field all afternoon, but the wolves won't show up until the sun goes down."

This "show/show up" is different from the transitive "show + object".  In these sentences you can not use "show up".

"I showed the report to the boss."
"The patient didn't show signs of the illness."

Damn phrasal verbs! : )

Answer

James is right - you can't really divide "up" from these phrasal verbs.  And Eliot's explained two of the phrasal verbs well, so here's the other one:

"Shine up" means to make or become shiny.  So you shine a penny to make it bright (or, shine up a penny) - if you are successful, you can say the penny "shines up" well.  Yes, this sounds like it's the penny that's been doing the hard work!

It's not well known here in Australia. We normally say "scrub up" which also has a casual feel, like "shine up".  For example, if a young lady dresses and makes up and looks attractive, one might say "she scrubs up well".

Answer

Well, think of a flower opening up, and you have the idea for this word.
show up = appear (not the same as show)
open a shop = open for business
open up a shop = start a business
Obama opens up the White House = it is being opened for the first time.
I have never heard the expression "shine up". The sales clerk wasn't English!

Answer

You need to get a book about Phrasal Verbs.

Answers · 4

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