MicroEnglish.

Live up to
Phrasal Verbs | B2

Listening exercises with “Live up to”

to live up to something is a useful phrasal verb to talk about your reaction to something, specifically to say whether it was better or worse than you were expecting or hoping.

There are a few ways you can use this (and similar) expressions, depending on how you feel:

The film didn’t live up to my expectations = the film was worse than I was expecting

The film lived up to my expectations = the film was as good as I was expecting

The film exceeded my expectations = the film was better than I was expecting.

You can also use this phrasal verb to ask someone what they thought of something, and how their opinion compared to their expectations. e.g. How was the meal last night? Did it live up to your expectations?

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

Accent: English (RP)

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. .
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The film disappointing . didn't expectations.
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The film a bit disappointing . It didn't really up to expectations.
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Accent: Northern England

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Luke .
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Luke is haunted that he never his father's .
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Luke is haunted the that he never up his father's .
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About the sentence

Accent: North America

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? ?
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the concert the other day? Did it your ?
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How the concert you to the other day? Did it up to your ?
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About the sentence

In

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28 responses

  1. Sveta Avatar
    Sveta

    Hi. The most of parents whose children have learned English for 3 or 4months are disappointed when their children can’t speak very well. Having English lessons didn’t live up to the expectations.

    Reply
    1. Chris Bargery Avatar
      Chris Bargery

      People often have very high expectations (unrealistic expectations) when it coms to learning a language. It takes time and patience, but I guess it’s hard to communicate that sometimes. Do you have to have difficult conversations with parents sometimes?

      A couple of corrections: At the start, you should either say: “Most parents whose children have learned English…” or “The majority of parents whose children have learned English…”.

      There is also a little mistake near the end. The final part should be: “Having English lessons didn’t live up to their expectations”.

      Thanks!

      Reply
  2. Tanya Avatar
    Tanya

    There is a rock in my city that is famous for having a form of a human head. But during some time it’s deformed and now it doesn’t live up to people’s expectation.

    Reply
    1. Chris Bargery Avatar
      Chris Bargery

      Excellent example – tourist attractions often don’t live up to people’s expectations. You’ve made one little mistake in your last sentence – can you see what it is?

      Reply
  3. Alejandro Avatar
    Alejandro

    I went to a park in the northern part of Mexico which was like a safari ride, but it didn’t live up to my expectations. The weather was too hot in that part of the season, and there was almost no shade to get cover.

    Reply
    1. Chris Bargery Avatar
      Chris Bargery

      Good example and perfect English, well done 🙂 how hot was it?

      Reply
  4. Tanya Avatar
    Tanya

    No…could you tell me please, what mistake I’ve done?)

    Reply
    1. Chris Bargery Avatar
      Chris Bargery

      The last word should be ‘expectations’.

      It might be helpful to memorise this phrasal verb as ‘to live up to somebody’s expectations’ because it is such a common combination.

      Reply
  5. samy Avatar
    samy

    In the place I live, there is a famous event every year in which people enjoy listening to music from famous singers, but also enjoy the food of the different restaurans meeting in that place, but this year it didn’t live up to my expectations.

    Reply

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