The phrasal verb give up means to stop trying, stop an activity or habit, surrender, or relinquish something. Its meaning depends on context: give up smoking means quit a habit, while give up on a plan means stop believing it will succeed. Give up can be transitive, intransitive, or part of longer expressions such as give up on.
Key Facts at a Glance
- Give up commonly means stop trying, quit an activity, surrender, or sacrifice something.
- Give up + gerund is the standard structure for abandoning an activity: “She gave up eating sugar.”
- Give up is separable with many noun objects: “give up the plan” and “give the plan up” are both possible.
- Pronoun objects must come between the verb and particle: “give it up,” never “give up it.”
- Gave up is the simple past, and given up is the past participle.
- Give up on means stop believing that a person, plan, or goal will succeed.
What Does Give Up Mean?
Give up has four core meanings: stopping an effort, abandoning a habit, surrendering, and sacrificing something valuable. The surrounding object or preposition normally identifies the intended meaning, so “I gave up” means “I stopped trying,” whereas “I gave up my seat” means “I relinquished my seat.”
The expression is common in conversation, informal writing, instructions, advice, and personal storytelling. It can describe a temporary decision, such as giving up after ten minutes, or a permanent change, such as giving up alcohol.
Meaning 1: Stop Trying
When give up has no object, it usually means stop making an effort because success seems difficult or impossible.
- “The answer was complicated, so I gave up.”
- “Don’t give up; you are nearly finished.”
- “After three unsuccessful attempts, the technician gave up.”
The implied object may be an attempt, task, investigation, or goal. English speakers often omit that object when the context already makes it clear.
Meaning 2: Quit a Habit or Activity
Give up means stop doing a repeated activity, especially a habit, followed by a noun or gerund.
- “Maya gave up smoking in January.”
- “I gave up drinking coffee after 6 p.m.”
- “They gave up eating meat for environmental reasons.”
- “He gave up the sport after a knee injury.”
The activity can be temporary or permanent. “I gave up chocolate for Lent” usually describes a defined period, while “She gave up smoking” normally suggests a lasting change.
Meaning 3: Surrender or Admit Defeat
Give up can mean surrender to an opponent, authority, or police force. In this use, the subject stops resisting rather than merely stopping an activity.
- “The suspect gave himself up to the police.”
- “The team gave up after conceding four goals.”
- “The attacker gave up his weapon.”
- “The rebels eventually gave up.”
The reflexive expression give yourself up specifically means surrender yourself. The phrase may also mean voluntarily report yourself to the authorities.
Meaning 4: Relinquish or Sacrifice
Give up + noun can mean surrender ownership, a right, a place, or time for another purpose.
- “Please give up your seat to an elderly passenger.”
- “She gave up her weekend to finish the report.”
- “The company gave up its claim to the property.”
- “He gave up his chance to compete.”
This meaning focuses on something surrendered, not on failure. Someone can willingly give up a possession or opportunity without being defeated.
How Does Give Up Work Grammatically?
Give up works as both an intransitive and a transitive phrasal verb. An intransitive use has no direct object, as in “The child gave up,” while a transitive use has an object, as in “The child gave up the game.”
The particle up changes the meaning of give. The complete unit should therefore be learned as a phrasal verb, although the object can appear between the two parts in many transitive sentences.
Intransitive Patterns
Use give up alone when the listener understands what has been abandoned.
| Pattern | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Subject + gave up | “The runner gave up.” | Stopped trying |
| Subject + will give up | “The search team will give up at noon.” | Stop the search |
| Subject + has given up | “Nina has given up.” | No longer expects success |
| Subject + is giving up | “The patient is giving up.” | Is losing hope or stopping resistance |
An intransitive sentence cannot normally take a direct object without changing its structure. “She gave up the experiment” is transitive, but “She gave up” is intransitive.
Transitive Patterns
Use a direct object when naming the thing, activity, habit, or opportunity that someone abandons.
- “They gave up the investigation.”
- “He gave up his computer.”
- “We gave up the attempt.”
- “I gave up running every morning.”
A noun object can usually appear either after up or between give and up. The second position often sounds more conversational.
Can You Separate Give and Up?
Give up is separable when its object is a noun phrase, but a pronoun object must go between give and up. Therefore, both “She gave up the job” and “She gave the job up” are grammatically possible, while only “She gave it up” is correct.
| Object type | Correct structure | Example | Incorrect structure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noun phrase | give up + noun | “He gave up the plan.” | Not applicable |
| Noun phrase | give + noun + up | “He gave the plan up.” | Not applicable |
| Object pronoun | give + pronoun + up | “He gave it up.” | “He gave up it.” |
| Reflexive pronoun | give + reflexive + up | “She gave herself up.” | “She gave up herself.” |
| Gerund phrase | give up + gerund | “They gave up trying.” | “They gave trying up.” |
The noun pattern is technically flexible, but not every version sounds equally natural. “She gave up her job” is much more common than “She gave her job up,” especially when the noun phrase is long.
Why Pronouns Must Be Separated
English phrasal-verb grammar places short pronoun objects between the verb and particle. This rule applies to it, them, him, her, and reflexive pronouns.
- Correct: “I gave it up.”
- Correct: “They gave them up.”
- Correct: “The prisoner gave himself up.”
- Incorrect: “I gave up it.”
- Incorrect: “The prisoner gave up himself.”
The same placement principle appears in other separable phrasal verbs, including turn it off, pick them up, and write it down.
Why Does Give Up Take a Gerund?
Give up takes a gerund, or verb + -ing, when the object is an activity. The gerund functions as a noun phrase, so “give up running” means abandon the activity of running.
- “She gave up driving at night.”
- “We gave up waiting for the bus.”
- “He gave up trying to persuade them.”
- “I gave up looking for the missing file.”
Do not use an infinitive after give up when you mean quit an activity:
- Incorrect: “She gave up to run every morning.”
- Correct: “She gave up running every morning.”
The infinitive can follow give up in a different construction when give up means surrender something to another purpose or person:
- “He gave up his seat to let a child sit down.”
- “She gave up the project to focus on her health.”
Here, to let and to focus explain purpose. They are not complements meaning “quit.”
What Does Give Up On Mean?
Give up on means stop believing in, supporting, or expecting success from a person, plan, or goal. The preposition on identifies the target of lost hope, whereas plain give up often identifies the activity that stops.
- “The doctor has not given up on the patient.”
- “Do not give up on your dream.”
- “The investors gave up on the project.”
- “She gave up on finding a solution.”
Compare the two structures:
| Expression | Object type | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| give up | Activity or effort | “He gave up studying.” | Stop the activity |
| give up on | Person, goal, or plan | “He gave up on college.” | Stop believing in success |
| give up on someone | Person | “She gave up on him.” | Stop supporting or expecting change |
| never give up | Implied effort | “Never give up.” | Continue trying |
A person may give up studying but not give up on passing the exam. The first ends an action; the second ends confidence in an outcome.
When Does Give Up Mean Surrender?
Give up means surrender when the subject stops resisting an authority, opponent, or dangerous situation. The phrase often appears with to, as in “give up to the police,” or with an object such as give up his weapon.
- “The robber gave himself up to the police.”
- “The soldiers gave up to the advancing army.”
- “The suspect gave up his passport.”
- “The hostage-taker gave up after negotiations.”
The construction give up to is different from give up on. Give up to indicates the recipient of a surrendered person or thing; give up on indicates the target of abandoned hope.
Give Up Something to Someone
Use give up + object + to + recipient when someone relinquishes something for another person or authority.
- “The driver gave up his license to the court.”
- “She gave up the room to her sister.”
- “The company gave up control to a new board.”
In modern usage, hand over, surrender, or relinquish may sound more precise when legal ownership or official authority is involved.
What Are the Verb Forms of Give Up?
Give up follows the irregular verb forms of give. The particle remains unchanged, while the verb changes from give to gave or given.
| Tense or form | Verb form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Base form | give up | “I refuse to give up.” |
| Third-person present | gives up | “She gives up too quickly.” |
| Present participle | giving up | “They are giving up the lease.” |
| Simple past | gave up | “He gave up last night.” |
| Past participle | given up | “We have given up the search.” |
| Infinitive | to give up | “It is hard to give up sugar.” |
The past participle requires an auxiliary verb:
- “I have given up.”
- “She had given up hope.”
- “They will have given up by then.”
The form gave up cannot follow have, has, or had. “She has gave up” is incorrect; “She has given up” is correct.
How Is Give Up Different From Give In?
Give up means stop an effort or abandon something, while give in means yield to pressure, demands, temptation, or another person. The two expressions can describe related events, but they emphasize different causes.
| Expression | Main meaning | Typical object | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| give up | Stop trying or quit | Habit, effort, possession | “He gave up smoking.” |
| give in | Yield under pressure | Demand, temptation | “She gave in to pressure.” |
| give out | Stop functioning or distribute | Energy, supplies | “The battery gave out.” |
| give away | Donate or reveal | Possession, secret | “He gave away the answer.” |
| give back | Return something | Object or property | “Please give back my book.” |
| give over | Stop an activity, often informal | Activity or control | “Give over complaining.” |
Use give in to when another force changes the decision:
- “The manager gave in to the union’s demands.”
- “I gave in to the temptation to check my phone.”
Use give up when the central idea is cessation:
- “The manager gave up negotiating.”
- “I gave up checking the old account.”
Which Alternatives Fit Different Contexts?
The best synonym depends on whether the sentence describes stopping, surrender, or formal relinquishment. Quit is direct and conversational, abandon is more formal, surrender suggests resistance or authority, and relinquish emphasizes giving up a right or possession.
| Give up context | Everyday alternative | Formal alternative | Example replacement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stop a habit | quit, stop | cease | “She quit smoking.” |
| Stop an attempt | quit, stop trying | discontinue the attempt | “They abandoned the search.” |
| Lose hope | stop believing | lose confidence in | “He lost confidence in the plan.” |
| Surrender | surrender | capitulate | “The unit surrendered.” |
| Sacrifice property | let go of | relinquish | “She relinquished her claim.” |
| Sacrifice time | devote, forgo | sacrifice | “He sacrificed his weekend.” |
Give up is often the most natural choice in speech. Formal alternatives can improve legal, academic, or business writing, but they may sound unnecessarily distant in personal communication.
Is Give Up Suitable for Formal Writing?
Give up is acceptable in formal writing when the meaning is clear, but a precise alternative may better identify the action. Academic prose often prefers discontinue, abandon, or cease, while legal writing may require surrender, forfeit, or relinquish.
| Context | Natural choice | More formal choice |
|---|---|---|
| Medical treatment | “give up treatment” | “discontinue treatment” |
| Legal right | “give up the claim” | “relinquish the claim” |
| Financial asset | “give up ownership” | “transfer or surrender ownership” |
| Research project | “give up the study” | “terminate the study” |
| Personal habit | “give up smoking” | “cease smoking” |
Register should not override accuracy. Give up hope may be more idiomatic than relinquish hope, and give up smoking is more natural than relinquish smoking in nearly every context.
Common Errors and Corrections
Error 1: Putting a Pronoun After Up
- Incorrect: “I gave up it.”
- Correct: “I gave it up.”
Pronouns require the split position. This is the most important word-order rule for transitive give up.
Error 2: Using an Infinitive for a Quit Activity
- Incorrect: “He gave up to play tennis.”
- Correct: “He gave up playing tennis.”
Use give up + gerund when the activity is being abandoned.
Error 3: Confusing Give Up and Give In
- Incorrect meaning: “The committee gave up to the demands.”
- Better: “The committee gave in to the demands.”
The committee yielded to pressure, so give in to is the appropriate expression.
Error 4: Using Gave Instead of Given
- Incorrect: “They have gave up.”
- Correct: “They have given up.”
After have, has, or had, use the past participle given.
Error 5: Omitting On Before a Goal or Person
- “I have not given up on the project” means I still believe it may succeed.
- “I have not given up the project” usually means I have not abandoned or surrendered the project itself.
The preposition can change the relationship between the speaker and the object.
How Can You Practise Give Up Correctly?
Practise give up by identifying whether the sentence describes an effort, activity, hope, surrender, or possession. Then choose the matching pattern: give up + gerund, give up on + noun, give oneself up to + authority, or give up + noun.
- Replace stop doing with give up + -ing: “She stopped eating sugar” becomes “She gave up eating sugar.”
- Replace stop believing in with give up on: “He stopped believing in the plan” becomes “He gave up on the plan.”
- Replace surrender himself with give himself up: “The suspect surrendered” becomes “The suspect gave himself up.”
- Test pronoun placement: “the habit” can follow up, but it must sit between give and up.
- Change the tense: “give up,” “gave up,” “has given up,” and “is giving up.”
A useful learner test is to ask, “What exactly stopped?” If the answer is an activity, use a gerund. If the answer is hope in a goal, use on.
FAQ
Is Give Up One Word or Two Words?
Give up is two words because it is a phrasal verb made from the verb give and the particle up. The words function together semantically, but they remain separate in every tense: gives up, gave up, giving up, and given up.
What Is the Opposite of Give Up?
The opposite depends on the meaning. For stopping an effort, use continue, persist, or keep trying. For surrender, use resist or defend. For relinquishing property, use keep, retain, or hold on to.
What Does Give It Up Mean?
Give it up can mean surrender or quit when it refers to a known object or activity. In informal speech, Give it up for the band is a separate expression meaning applaud or show appreciation, so context determines the meaning.
Can Give Up Be Used in the Passive Voice?
Yes. A surrendered object can appear in the passive voice: “The property was given up to the state.” However, relinquished, surrendered, or abandoned may be clearer in formal writing, especially when legal rights or ownership are involved.
What Does Never Give Up Mean?
Never give up means continue trying and refuse to abandon a goal, task, or hope. The object is usually understood from context, so the phrase is grammatically intransitive even though the implied effort may be specific.
Is Give Up the Same as Stop?
Not always. Stop is a broad verb for ending an action, whereas give up often adds an idea of abandoning an effort, habit, hope, possession, or resistance. “Stop the meeting” and “give up the meeting” do not normally have the same meaning.
The Bottom Line
The phrasal verb give up means stop trying, quit an activity, surrender, or relinquish something. Use give up + gerund for abandoned activities, give up on + noun for lost faith in a person or goal, and give yourself up to + authority for surrender. With pronouns, always say give it up, never give up it.
