Phrasal Verbs with Up and Down

Up and Down: Movement and Position

up often means to a higher position. down often means to a lower position.

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example
put up	fix something on a wall	I put a picture up on the wall.
take down	remove from a wall	I did not like it, so I took it down.
pick up	lift from the floor	I picked up the letter.
put down	place on a surface	I put down my pen.
stand up	rise to your feet	Alan stood up and walked out.
sit down	lower yourself to sit	Please sit down.
bend down	lower your body	I bent down to tie my shoelace.
turn up	increase volume/heat	Can you turn it up? I cannot hear.
turn down	decrease volume/heat	The oven is too hot. Turn it down to 150.

---

Down: Destruction and Reduction

Physical destruction

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example
knock down	destroy a building	Some old houses were knocked down.
cut down	fell a tree	Why did you cut down the tree?
blow down	destroy with wind	A tree was blown down in the storm.
burn down	destroy by fire	The house burnt down.

Getting less

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example
slow down	go more slowly	You are driving too fast. Slow down.
calm down	become calmer	Calm down. There is no point getting angry.
cut down on	do less of something	I am trying to cut down on coffee.

---

Down: Stopping, Refusing, and Recording

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example
break down	stop working	The car broke down on the motorway.
close down / shut down	stop doing business	The shop closed down a few years ago.
let down	disappoint somebody	He will never let you down.
turn down	refuse an offer	She decided to turn it down.
write down	record on paper	I wrote it down so I would not forget.

I applied for several jobs, but I was turned down for all of them.

I cannot remember the address. I know I wrote it down somewhere.

---

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Better	Why
I turned down it.	I turned it down.	A pronoun object goes between the verb and the particle.
She cut down coffee.	She cut down on coffee.	Use cut down on for reducing consumption.
The shop was closed down because it lost money.	The shop closed down because it was losing money.	Close down is intransitive here (the shop itself closed).
He let me downed.	He let me down.	Let is irregular: let / let / let.

---

Practice: Exercises

1 / 15

There used to be a tree next to the house, but we ___.

Acut it upBcut it downCcut it outDcut it off

PreviousNext

---

Summary

up: Use up for raising, increasing, or moving to a higher position. Common verbs include put up, pick up, stand up, turn up, and write up.

down: Use down for lowering, reducing, destroying, or stopping. Common verbs include take down, put down, turn down, slow down, calm down, cut down on, break down, close down, let down, turn down (refuse), and write down.

Remember: cut down on is the correct form for reducing consumption, and pronoun objects always go between the verb and the particle.