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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Sorry I'm . I by the
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Sorry I'm . I got up by the .
Accent: Northern England
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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.
About the sentence
…I promise to be quick…
Notice the important verb pattern to promise to do sth, e.g. I can’t believe you were late again. You promised to be on time.
Accent: England (London)
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We've over . What's the ?
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We've waiting for an . What's the up?
About the sentence
…we’ve been waiting…
The present perfect continuous is used here to describe an action that started in the past and continues up to the present, and also to emphasise the duration of this action. e.g. I’ve been reading this book for two months and I’m not even halfway through.
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This exercise:3 dictations
Accents:England (London), Ireland, Northern England
Well, i work on the other side of my city..it’s really far ..and I hate being late , so I try leaving home early..nevertheless the first day work…I arrived late because I got held by traffic ! It was rush hours traffic and I wqs desesperated.so, i got off the bus and took a taxy.
One small correction near the end relating to word order. It should be: “I don’t remember when the last time I was held up was“. Remember that we only need to use the structure/word order of a question if it is actually a question. Let me know if you’d like another example of this.
Jhona
6 years ago
I wasn’t on time for a job interview because i got hold up by a traffic jam.
There is one grammatical mistake in the way you used the phrasal verb – can you see it?
Tanya
6 years ago
I work from home and have free schedule so fortunately I’m never late for it 🙂 Now I almost always come in (on) time and only some unexpacting occasions can hold me up )
Well, i work on the other side of my city..it’s really far ..and I hate being late , so I try leaving home early..nevertheless the first day work…I arrived late because I got held by traffic ! It was rush hours traffic and I wqs desesperated.so, i got off the bus and took a taxy.
Great example Miriana – what a nightmare being late on your first day 🙁
A couple of quick corrections:
“I try leaving early” – this should be “I try to leave early”. Do you know why?
Remember to use the whole phrasal verb (it’s easy to forget!): “I got held up by traffic.”
A couple of spelling mistakes – should be ‘desperate’ and ‘taxi’.
Well done 🙂
I don’t like being held up by anything or anyone either, but sometimes it happens. However, I don’t remember when was the last time I was held up.
Excellent use of the phrasal verb 🙂
One small correction near the end relating to word order. It should be: “I don’t remember when the last time I was held up was“. Remember that we only need to use the structure/word order of a question if it is actually a question. Let me know if you’d like another example of this.
I wasn’t on time for a job interview because i got hold up by a traffic jam.
Oh dear – disaster! Did you get the job?
There is one grammatical mistake in the way you used the phrasal verb – can you see it?
I work from home and have free schedule so fortunately I’m never late for it 🙂 Now I almost always come in (on) time and only some unexpacting occasions can hold me up )
Sounds lovely!
I would say you come in on time (you need both prepositions because you are describing coming IN (to work), and doing it ON time.
One other correction – the adjective you need is ‘unexpected’.
Well done!
Once I got held up/I was held up by my alarm that didn’t work. But that was my fault :/ I forgot to turn it on
Haha, I’ve done that too.
You could have used a phrasal verb in your sentence (this one)