English Phrasal Verb: To Blow Up

To fill with air or another gas
To explode
To become very angry
To make an image bigger

To Blow Up

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Example Sentences Using the English Phrasal Verb Blow Up

1. The demolition team blew up the old apartment complex to make room for the new building.
2. When he saw the damage to his car, he blew up at the valet.
3. Jack forgot to blow up the air mattress, so his guest had to sleep on the sofa.
4. Smoking is banned in gas stations because there is a risk of them blowing up.
5. The paddle board was inflatable, so all he needed to do was take it out of the trunk and blow it up.

This phrasal verb, to blow up, can be transitive or intransitive.

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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.