open up my eyes

Question

It was really opened up my eyes after I visited the zoo today. Is this sentence OK?Thank you

Marius Hancu · Accepted Answer

Nope.

My eyes have really been opened up while I visited the zoo today.

CalifJim · Answer

Visiting the zoo today really opened my eyes.

CJ

Nona the brit · Answer

The idiom is eyes were opened/opened my eyes. Not opened up.

Marius Hancu · Answer

Nona The BritThe idiom is eyes were opened/opened my eyes. Not opened up.

Well , I know some sources support that:
http://www.answers.com/topic/open-one-s-eyes
but:

-------
My eyes were opened up to the whole issue of Pleistocene extinctions
by a visit to the University of Wisconsin by Paul Martin when I was a
graduate student there, about 1967 or 1968 -- quite a long time ago
now.

http://www.amnh.org/science/biodiversity/extinction/Day1/bytes/SmithPres.html
his bio:
http://www.amnh.org/science/biodiversity/extinction/Day1/Bios.html#smith
--------

--------
22. and he went in with them and as they sat about the table at the
evening meal, he took a piece of bread, and blessed it in the name of
Christ.

23. And instantly their eyes were opened up, and they perceived that
he, the stranger, was the Lord, the man from Galilee; that he had
risen from the dead; and then the form of Jesus disappeared.

http://www.fatherhurley.com/ag/aquariangospel-173-182.htm
---------

---------
Q: What interested you to pursue a career in anesthesia?

A: Early in medical school my interest was in preventative care. When
I rotated to anesthesia late in my third year of medical school, my
eyes were opened up to a field of medicine that I had never
considered. I found that I liked the pace and potential excitement
found in the operating room. Many of us, who find a niche in
anesthesia, like the occasional rush of adrenaline that we inevitably
experience.

https://www.medicine.uiowa.edu/profiles/faculty/0502-2Hata.html
---------

---------
But I do think a lot of people's eyes were opened up to a truth they
didn't know about so that was cool.

http://garylamb.blogspot.com/2005/11/preached-on-giving-today.html
---------

Nona the brit · Answer

I still say it is incorrect to include an 'up' in this idiom.

Google agrees really - "eyes opened" = 1,180,000 . "eyes opened up" = 19,400.

CalifJim · Answer

Even if Google showed it with "up" a million times more than without, I'd still say it sounds funny.

My advice -- take it or leave it -- is not to use "up" in that idiom in your own writing!

CJ

Marius Hancu · Answer

CalifJimEven if Google showed it with "up" a million times more than without, I'd still say it sounds funny.
My advice -- take it or leave it -- is not to use "up" in that idiom in your own writing!

I'll take your advice.

open up my eyes

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions