MicroEnglish.

Hold up
Phrasal Verbs | B2

Listening exercises with “Hold up”

to hold somebody/something up = to delay somebody or something.

It is easy to use this phrasal verb as an alternative to the verb delay. e.g. I don’t want to hold you up = I don’t want to delay you.

We often use the phrasal verb in the passive (to be/get held up) when we want to focus on the person or thing that is delayed. e.g. I got held up at work.

We can also use this phrasal verb as a noun – a hold up, e.g. Sorry for the hold up, your drinks will be ready in the next couple of minutes.

Have a go at these micro-dictation exercises to hear this expression being used in context – how much can you understand?

Accent: Ireland

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. .
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Sorry I'm . I by the
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Sorry I'm . I got up by the .
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Accent: Northern England

80%
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. .
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I quick. I don't any longer.
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I to be quick. I don't to you any longer.
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About the sentence

Accent: England (London)

80%
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. ?
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We've over . What's the ?
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We've waiting for an . What's the up?
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About the sentence

In

, ,

24 responses

  1. Eli Avatar
    Eli

    I justo to be late in almost every meeting,date or even in my job. Because I got he’ll up with the chores or by kids

    Reply
    1. Chris Bargery Avatar
      Chris Bargery

      Well done Eli 🙂

      When you say ‘justo’, I think you mean ‘used to’ which we use to talk about past habits or regular actions (e.g. I used to play tennis every week).

      Also, be careful with the preposition after the phrasal verb – it will normally be ‘by’ (I got held up by chores/the kids).

      Thanks!

      Reply
  2. Javier Cruz Avatar
    Javier Cruz

    It’s really shameful when I’ve been held up in the traffic and someone is waiting for me. I can undertand how feel other person.

    Reply
    1. Chris Bargery Avatar
      Chris Bargery

      Good example Javier. I would say “I can understand how the other person feels“.

      Also, be careful with ‘shameful’ and ‘ashamed’ – these be false friends, so Spanish speakers need to be careful. In English, ‘shame’ is a strong word for how we feel when we’ve done something bad or morally wrong/socially unacceptable. When you use it in your example, it sounds too dramatic.

      A better word for your example would be ’embarrassing’. This is more appropriate than shameful because, although it isn’t good to be late, you haven’t done anything morally wrong.

      Imagine you have a job interview. If you arrive 20 minutes late, you would feel very embarrassed. If they discover that you told several lies on your CV, you would probably feel ashamed.

      Does that make sense? Let me know if you need any more examples.

      Reply
  3. Gulnar Avatar
    Gulnar

    I got held up by work and I was late for my friend’s wedding party.

    Reply
  4. Irinka Avatar
    Irinka

    Usually I never late. I consider myself punctual person. But once I was late to the work, because I got held up with havy rain

    Reply
    1. Chris Bargery Avatar
      Chris Bargery

      Good example Irinka. I’m impressed that you’ve only been late to work once! I’ve made a couple of corrections to your example below:

      “Usually I’m never late. I consider myself a punctual person. But once I was late to work because I got held up by heavy rain.

      Reply
  5. Victoria Avatar
    Victoria

    Usually I’m held up by a traffic jam

    Reply
    1. Chris Bargery Avatar
      Chris Bargery

      Good example Victoria. A useful expression for you might be “to be/get stuck in traffic”, e.g. “I was late for work because I got stuck in traffic again”.

      Reply

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