give up

To stop trying to do something because it seems too difficult or impossible; to admit that you cannot succeed and abandon your effort. It often implies accepting defeat after a struggle.

Type

Inseparable phrasal verb.

Notes

As an intransitive or inseparable phrasal verb, 'give up' cannot have an object placed between its two parts when used in the sense of abandoning an effort. You can say 'She gave up the project' or 'She gave it up,' but when no object follows — meaning simply 'to stop trying' — the verb stands alone: 'She gave up.' Note that 'give up' can also take an object meaning 'to quit something,' in which case object pronouns must come between the parts: 'She gave it up,' never 'She gave up it.'

Conjugation

Narrative

Priya had been pitching her UX redesign proposal to the same director for four months. Every time, he pushed it to the next quarter. Her colleague Jonah told her to give up and move on — the company clearly wasn't interested. B Priya had data showing the current interface was costing them users. She bo one final meeting, arrived with printed customer complaint logs and a co comparison, and l it all on the table. The director approved a pilot run by the end of the hour. S , giving up, she later said, would have been the ea thing she ever did — a the bi mistake. She had refused to gi even after four months of no.

Register

Neutral

In October 1941, with the German army advancing rapidly toward Moscow, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin faced en pressure to evacuate the capital. Most government ministries had already fled east to Kuibyshev, panic was sp through the city, and some senior officials assumed Moscow would fall within days. On October 19, Stalin made a decision: he stayed. He announced a state of siege, appeared publicly in the city, and gave his famous address on November 7 — Revolution Day — standing on Red Square with German forces less than 50 miles away. The speech was broadcast nationally and filmed. Stalin's refusal to abandon Moscow st the Soviet defense. By December, a Soviet counteroffensive had pushed German forces back from the capital's outskirts. Historians debate many of Stalin's choices, b this particular episode is well documented: the moment when the sy and military weight of not giving up — of vi refusing to concede — shifted the psychological momentum of an entire campaign. So , the decision that changes everything is simply the refusal to gi . In , that single choice altered the course of the entire war.

To keep going with something even when it is hard, painful, or when other people or circumstances are making it difficult. If you push through something, you do not give up, even when you want to.

Type

Inseparable phrasal verb.

Notes

"Push through" is inseparable when it means to persist despite difficulties — the object, if there is one, always follows the complete phrasal verb. You would say "She pushed through the pain," never "She pushed the pain through" with this meaning. Note that "push something through" (meaning to force approval of a plan or proposal) is a different, separable sense of the phrase and should not be confused with this core meaning.

Conjugation

Narrative

Marta had been working on the budget report for eleven hours straight. At 9 p.m., the spreadsheet crashed and she l forty minutes of work. Her eyes burned and her coffee had gone cold. For a moment she considered emailing her manager to ask for an extension, but the board meeting was at 8 a.m. and there was no room to move. She re the lost section from memory, f an error she hadn't noticed before, and filed the report at 11:47 p.m. The next morning, her manager pulled her aside. "That report was the cl one we've seen in years." S , Marta had puugh , a it showed. Ev , she slept for eleven hours straight that night, ex but relieved.

Register

Neutral

In the winter of 1914–1915, Ernest Shackleton and his crew aboard the Endurance became trapped in the pack ice of the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. By November 1915, the ice had crushed the ship entirely, and it sank. Shackleton and his 27 men were left on the ice with three lifeboats, dwindling rations, and no communication with the outside world. Over the following months, Shackleton made a series of extraordinary decisions: he sailed 800 miles across the world's most dangerous ocean in an open boat, navigated to South Georgia Island by the stars, and then crossed its unmapped mountain range on foot to reach a whaling station. Every stage presented what seemed like an inble obstacle — frostbite, storms, starvation, and despair. An not a single man was lost. What Shackleton deted was not re bravery but sustained, deliberate persistence — the willingness to keep moving forward when every rational instinct said stop. His entire survival strategy was, in the truest sense, a decision to puugh . S , when every rational instinct s stop, he in chose otherwise.

To continue doing something without stopping, even when it is difficult or you feel like giving up. It often describes persisting through challenges in order to finish or succeed.

Type

Inseparable phrasal verb.

Notes

"Keep going" is an inseparable phrasal verb, meaning no object or other word can be placed between "keep" and "going." For example, you can say "She kept going despite the pain," but you cannot say "She kept it going" to express this same meaning of continued effort — inserting an object changes or loses the intended sense entirely.

Conjugation

Narrative

Priya had been studying for her nursing entrance exam for six months. In the f week, she failed two practice tests back to back and nearly cancelled her registration. Her older sister sat with her at the kitchen table on a Tuesday night, g over drug-calculation problems one more time. "You know more than you think," her sister said quietly. Priya wasn't sure she believed that, b she ke anyway — flashcards at breakfast, practice questions on the bus. S , on exam day, she pa with two points to spare. Ev , she cried in the parking lot afterward, from relief rather than a q fear.

Register

Neutral

In January 1915, Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance became trapped in pack ice in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. By November the ice had crushed and sunk her, leaving Shackleton and his twenty-seven men stranded on the frozen surface with three small lifeboats. Over the following months, the crew drifted on ice floes, eventually launching the boats into vi Antarctic waters. Shackleton then led an 800-mile open-boat journey to South Georgia Island — widely considered one of the most da sea voyages in history — arriving in May 1916 with five ex men. He then crossed the island's unmapped mountain range on foot to reach a whaling station and organize a rescue. Every single member of the expedition survived. Shackleton made no dramatic speeches about resilience; he simply as each new obstacle and f the next possible action. S , the expedition is remembered not because the mission succeeded — it failed entirely — buuse when every reason to stop acted , Shackleton and his crew found a way to ke .

To continue doing something without stopping, especially after a problem, interruption, or setback. It suggests persistence and the determination to keep going despite difficulties.

Type

Inseparable phrasal verb.

Notes

"Carry on" is an inseparable phrasal verb, meaning the verb and particle cannot be split by an object. You must say "carry on with the journey," never "carry the journey on." When a pronoun or noun follows, it is introduced with the preposition "with": for example, "She carried on with her work" rather than placing the object between the two words.

Conjugation

Narrative

Marco had been cycling across Spain for eleven days when his rear derailleur snapped outside a small village near Burgos. He pushed his bike to a roadside café, or a coffee, and sat staring at the map. A local mechanic patched it together with a spare part that wasn't quite right — the gears skipped on every hill. Marco knew the fix wouldn't last. B Santiago de Compostela was only four days away. He tightened his w helmet, paid for the coffee, and decided to ca , taking the s hills slowly, st on the pedals where he had to. Ev , he never once considered turning back.

Register

Neutral

In August 1914, Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition set sail from London aboard the Endurance. By January 1915, the ship was tr in pack ice in the Weddell Sea. For ten months the crew drifted, locked in ice, watching the ship slowly being crushed. When the Endurance finally sank in November 1915, Shackleton and his twenty-seven men were stranded on the ice with three lifeboats and dwindling supplies. Rahan surrender to despair, Shackleton organized daily routines, maintained morale, and led the men on a ha 800-mile open-sea voyage to South Georgia Island — na by sextant, enduring hurce winds — to reach a whaling station and summon rescue. Every si crew member survived. What made the difference was Shackleton's refusal to stop: when each plan failed, he fo a new one. S , the expedition became one of history's most extraordinary examples of what it means to ca in the face of total, sustained catastrophe.