Lea makes a bottle full; a hall becomes full of people. Fill up works with or without an object. Food can also fill someone up by satisfying their hunger.

The idea

Use fill up the bottle / fill the bottle up, but fill it up. Introduce the contents with with. Without an object, the hall filled up describes the space becoming full. The past is filled.

Examples

  • Lea filled up the bottle with cold water.
  • Lea filled the bottle up with cold water.
  • It is nearly empty; can you fill it up?
  • The rain barrel is filling up.
  • The hall filled up before the concert.
  • This bowl of soup will fill you up.

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Watch out

Is filling up describes a process, so the container may not be full yet. When soup fills you up, it makes you feel you have eaten enough; it does not describe literally filling every part of your body.

Try it yourself

  1. Choose the correct option. The bottle is empty. Fill ___. (it up / up it)

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    it up

    It replaces the bottle and belongs between fill and up.

  2. Choose the correct option. Lea filled the bottle up ___ water. (with / of)

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    with

    Use with after the filling action to introduce what goes into the bottle.

  3. Choose the correct option. The hall ___ up before yesterday’s concert. (filled / felt)

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    filled

    The past of fill is filled. Felt is the past of feel and does not express becoming full here.

Use it today

Describe filling a container, a place becoming crowded and a meal that satisfies hunger. Use a pronoun in one sentence and with to name a container's contents.