English Phrasal Verb: To Bring Up

To raise children
To mention something in conversation

To Bring Up

Copy This Example — Or — Make Your Own Storyboard

More options

Example Sentences for the English Phrasal Verb Bring Up

1. Please don’t bring up Valentine's Day when Jeremy is around; his girlfriend dumped him last week.
2. After the death of his parents, Tom was brought up by his grandparents.
3. Please don’t bring up football again, I’m sick of talking about my team’s performance.
4. Some people don’t realize how difficult it is to bring up children on your own.
5. I didn’t want to bring this up, but I think your daughter has stolen my cell phone.

The English phrasal verb, to bring up, is transitive.

Create your own Storyboard

Try it for Free!

English Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs can be extremely tricky for learners of English. The reason for this is twofold: there are lots of them and their meaning is not always obvious from the words that make them up. To make things even more difficult, phrasal verbs can have multiple meanings, adding to the headache for learners.

A phrasal verb is made up of a main verb with an attached preposition or adverb. An example of a phrasal verb is run into. Where run is the main verb and into is the preposition. Phrasal verbs can be separated into two groups, intransitive and transitive verbs. Intransitive phrasal verbs do not have a direct object: go out, for example, "I want to go out tonight". Transitive phrasal verbs have a direct object and they can be split up into two further categories: separable and inseparable. With separable transitive phrasal verbs, the verb and the preposition can be split up. For example, both “turn off the radio” and “turn the radio off” are both correct. Inseparable phrasal verbs cannot be split up. For example, “I’ll look after you” is correct, but “I’ll look you after” is not.

Using Storyboard That you can prepare a visual dictionary of phrasal verbs quickly and easily. Even better than that, have your students create their own phrasal verb visual definitions.

Frequently Asked Questions about English Phrasal Verb: To Bring Up

What does 'bring up' mean in English?

Bring up is a phrasal verb that means to mention or introduce a topic in conversation, or to raise a child. The meaning depends on context.

How is 'bring up' used in a sentence?

You can use bring up like this: "She brought up an interesting idea during the meeting," or "They brought up their children in a small town."

What is the difference between 'bring up' and 'raise'?

Bring up and raise both can mean caring for a child, but bring up is more commonly used for mentioning topics, while raise focuses on nurturing children or animals.

Why is 'bring up' considered a phrasal verb?

Bring up is called a phrasal verb because it combines a verb (bring) with a preposition (up) to create a new meaning not obvious from the parts alone.

What are some common synonyms for 'bring up'?

Common synonyms for bring up include mention, introduce (for topics), and raise, rear (for children).