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Debpriya De Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Think up
"He is always thinking up ways to sabotage my project."
Is the "up" in the sentence merely an intensifier ?
Would the sentence mean the same if we omitted the "up" ?
Is the "up" in the sentence merely an intensifier ?
Would the sentence mean the same if we omitted the "up" ?
Top answer
You cannot omit 'up' without replacing it with 'of' or 'about'. I don't believe it is an intensifier; I think it is an adverb of completion: hurry up, slow up, settle up , etc.
- You cannot omit 'up' without replacing it with 'of' or 'about'.
- I don't believe it is an intensifier; I think it is an adverb of completion: hurry up, slow up, settle up , etc.
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3 Answers
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You cannot omit 'up' without replacing it with 'of' or 'about'. I don't believe it is an intensifier; I think it is an adverb of completion: hurry up, slow up, settle up, etc.
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But, wouldn't replacing "up" with "of" change the meaning of the sentence, because "thinking of something" means to think about something and "thinking up something" means to invent or concoct something" ?
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Yes, it might change slightly, but not as much as you think-- they all mean 'concoct' there. But I didn't say the meaning wouldn't change; 'thinking' cannot stand alone in that structure, that is all.
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