LOOK UP / LOOK DOWN

“Look up” tiene tres significados, y “look down” tiene dos.

Look something up = buscar información. En este caso es transitivo y separable.

I’m going to look this word up in the dictionary.

I can’t remember her phone number. I’ll look it up in my agenda.

Look up = mirar hacia arriba. Ahí es muy literal. Intransitivo.

He looked up and saw the bird flying over his head.

Maria looked up. The sky was cloudy. “I guess it’s going to rain soon,” she said.

Look down = mirar hacia abajo. Este también es literal.

She looked down and saw that she had stepped in the mud. (mud = barro)

He opened the window and looked down at the people in the street.

Look down on someone = despreciar a alguien.

It seems like my boss looks down on everyone on his team. I don’t like him at all.

She thinks hard work is very important, and she looks down on lazy people.

Look up to someone

Look up to someone = admirar a alguien.

I’ve always looked up to my grandfather. He’s a wonderful man.

He really looks up to famous football players. When he’s older, he wants to be a football
player, too.

Who do you look up to?

En los phrasal verbs “look up to / look down on” las partículas tienen su significado de
positivo y negativo. “Up” se usa para expresar una opinión positiva de alguien, y “down”
para una opinión negativa.

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PICK UP / PUT DOWN

Pick up puede ser “recoger algo del suelo.” En este caso se refiere a un movimiento hacia
arriba. Lo contrario es put down. Los dos son transitivos y separables.

Don’t just leave your things on the floor… Pick them up!

She put her suitcase down next to the door.

“Just a second. Let me put down this box and then I’ll help you.”

He’s picking up the papers that he dropped. (drop = dejar caer)

PICK UP / DROP OFF

Pick up puede ser también ir a buscar algo o recoger a alguien. En este caso, lo contrario
es drop off. Los phrasal verbs opuestos muchas veces tienen partículas opuestas (tipo up
/ down) pero a veces el significado es opuesto con otra partícula. ¡Así es la vida!

I’ll pick you up at the airport when you arrive.

Could you drop off my clothes at the cleaner’s?

She’s going to pick her kids up at school.

I need to drop these papers off at the office.

TURN UP / TURN DOWN

“Turn up” es subir el volumen (o algo parecido) en un aparato electrónico. “Turn down” es
bajarlo. De nuevo, hablamos de “hacia arriba y hacia abajo.”

Could you please turn down the TV? I’m trying to study.

If you turn up the air conditioning we won’t be so hot.

En este caso, es separable:

I love this song. Turn it up!

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The TV is too loud. Could you please turn it down?

TURN UP (aparecer)

Para hacerlo más divertido, “turn up” tiene otro significado muy distinto: aparecer o llegar.
En este caso es intransitivo.

I was looking for my keys all morning… Finally they turned up under the sofa!

They were late for the meeting. By the time they turned up, we were almost finished.

It wasn’t a very good party. Half the people we invited didn’t turn up.

TURN DOWN (rechazar)

Otro significado de turn down es rechazar. Vuelve a ser transitivo y separable

He asked Maria to go out with him, but she turned him down.

They offered Pedro a job in Dubai, but he turned it down. He doesn’t want to go abroad.

If you turn down too many invitations, people will stop inviting you.

BREAK UP / BREAK DOWN

Parece que estos dos phrasal verbs sean opuestos, pero en realidad, no tienen nada que
ver el uno con el otro.

Break down = averiarse (un coche o una máquina grande)

Her car broke down on the highway.

The factory had to stop work when one of their big machines broke down.

The copy machine broke down yesterday. Have you called the technician?

Break up = terminar una relación.

She broke up with her boyfriend last week.

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Did you hear that Pedro and Maria broke up?

I can’t believe you’re breaking up with me!

También se puede usar “split up” para terminar una relación. Se usa normalmente si estás
casado.

When she split up with her husband, she moved to a new city.

My parents split up when I was a teenager. It was difficult for everyone.

SPEED UP / SLOW DOWN

Speed up = acelerar / ir más rápido. Slow down = ralentizar / ir más despacio.

Slow down! You’re over the speed limit.

Could you please slow down? I can’t understand you when you speak so fast.

He sped up and soon the car was gone. (Speed es un verbo irregular, y la conjugación es
“speed - sped - sped”)

The economic recovery is speeding up. Maybe I’ll finally find a job.

HURRY UP

hurry up = darse prisa. Se usa mucho en imperativo y en exclamación. Aquí usamos “up”
para “incrementar la velocidad”.

If you don’t hurry up, we’ll miss the train.

Hurry up and finish your breakfast. We have to go.

Hurry up! The taxi is waiting!

En cambio, la expresión “to be in a hurry” significa tener prisa, como un estado. “Hurry up”
se refiere a la acción de “darse prisa”. Fíjate que el verbo “tener” no entra en las frases…
Usamos el verbo to be y nada más.

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Sorry, I can’t stop to talk. I’m in a hurry.

He’s always in a hurry to go somewhere. I guess he’s pretty busy.

SPEAK UP / QUIET DOWN

Speak up = hablar más alto (incrementar el volumen).

Quiet down = bajar la voz, tranquilizarse.

Aquí usamos “up” para incrementar, y “down” para reducir. Quiet normalmente es un
adjetivo, pero aquí lo usamos como verbo.

I can’t hear you. Could you please speak up?

If you don’t speak up, nobody will know about your great ideas.

Children, quiet down! People are trying to study.

Please quiet down and show some respect for the speaker.

CHEER UP / FEEL DOWN

Como “up” se refiere a algo que se mejora, y “down” a algo que se empeora, tenemos
estos dos phrasal verbs sobre las emociones.

Cheer up = animarse, ¡ánimo!

Feel down = sentirse triste

She’s been feeling down since her dog died.

Pedro’s been feeling down a lot lately. Ever since he broke up with his girlfriend, he’s been
depressed.

Cheer up! Everything is going to be fine!

I made her some cookies to cheer her up, but it didn’t work. She’s still feeling down.

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