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- Razi7272May 2021
أعط أجوبة
exRangerMay 2021 It can also be indication of the ”direction” -- usually NORTH -- which one intends to travel. Example: ”We drove up to Minneapolis from Chicago.” (nb: Minneapolis is north of Chicago, but not on ”higher” ground / elevation) We even use this within a single municipal setting, e.g., ”I will drive up to Rogers Park from Hyde Park (two neighborhoods of Chicago, Hyde Park @ South Side, Evanston @ North Side) |
AussieInBgJune 2021 ”to drive up/down” can also be used for describing factors which increase of decrease prices. There are many more, some of which depend on the dialect of English being spoken...
As with many phrasal verbs in English, there are a whole bunch of literal and metaphorical meanings.
It’s more than enough to stick with talking about ”drive up/down” in the context of the poster’s question - ”mountains”.
will_stewaMay 2021 It can also be used to indicate an action as in look up the law and write the law down.
will_stewaMay 2021 sorry I meant status not statues.
will_stewaMay 2021 Another way it can indicate statues is to say We are going up to mom’s place. It may in fact be a lower altitude or latitude. It is a subtle way to honor your elders.
will_stewaMay 2021 It can also indicate status. Up town and Down town
Razi7272May 2021 Thank you so much 🌹
AussieInBgMay 2021 I avoided using colloquialisms when giving the explanation for a very good reason - the majority of students have massive troubles with phrasal verbs - even literal ones - because, unfortunately, most native English speakers who teach English are clueless about what constitutes idiomatic/literal usage.
Particularly with phrasal verbs, there are many which are hugely dependent on which dialect of English you are speaking - British, American or whatever. Even the specific regional or town affects how the phrasal verb is applied colloquially. Best to avoid talking about colloquialisms with uneven applicability unless the student is at a good C1 and is comfortable with things such as differentiating British and American English. Sadly, many students have been exposed to native English speaker teachers/instructors who can’t even do that themselves...
”up” can also imply, when used colloquially and depending on the dialect of English being spoken, travelling from a place with a lower population to a higher population. And funny enough, for different regions and local customs/dialects, it can even mean travelling SOUTH.
Given that the example sentence here was ”let’s drive up to the mountains next weekend” - it is very likely that the safe and dialect-independent version of the phrasal verb being used - namely driving from a lower to a higher elevation.
Hint: for a bit of context, mountains are usually higher than their surroundings.