Phrasal verbs · Free lesson
Grow up or bring up a child?
Two people can describe the same childhood from different sides: the person who grew up and the person who raised them.
Professor Scott MendozaMeaning in this lesson
grow up / bring someone up
Grow up: spend your childhood and become an adult. Bring someone up: raise a child.
Example
“Lena grew up in Denver. Her aunt brought her up.”
Lena spent her childhood in Denver, and her aunt raised her.
The short answer
The child grows up; a parent or caregiver brings the child up. Say “Lena grew up in Denver” and “Her aunt brought her up.” Do not use grow up with the child as a direct object.
Check who is growing and who is raising someone.
Grow up has no direct object in this meaning. Add a place with in: “I grew up in a small town.” Bring up takes the child as its object. With a pronoun, put it in the middle: “They brought him up.” The past forms are grew and brought.
Two roles in a childhood story
Lena grew up in Denver.
Her aunt brought her up.
Lena was brought up by her aunt.
With a noun, both “bring up a child” and “bring a child up” work. With her, use “bring her up,” not “bring up her.”
Choose the childhood viewpoint
Describe where someone grew
She grew up in Denver.
Describe who raised them
Her aunt brought her up.
Try it now
Choose who did what
Read all answers and explanations
Lena spent her childhood in Denver. Choose the sentence.
Lena grew up in Denver.Grew up describes Lena’s childhood. Brought up needs an object or a passive form here.
Her aunt raised Lena. Replace Lena with her.
Her aunt brought her up.The pronoun goes between brought and up. Grow up does not mean raise someone.
Keep Lena as the subject and say who raised her.
Lena was brought up by her aunt.Was brought up is passive: Lena received the care. The second option reverses who raised whom.
Build it yourself
Build the caregiver’s sentence
Use all four pieces. Start with Her aunt and explain who raised Lena.
Put the pronoun between the verb and up. Select a piece again to move it back.
Your childhood sentence
0 of 4 piecesYour chosen pieces will appear here.
See a model answer
Her aunt brought her up.
Her aunt is the caregiver; her is the child. Brought her up keeps the pronoun in the middle.
A little more clarity
Common questions
A few useful details before you move on.
Can both expressions describe the same person?
Yes. You can say where someone grew up and who brought them up. The two statements answer different questions.
Lena grew up in Denver. Her aunt brought her up.
Does grow up need a place?
No. A place adds childhood context, but the verb can stand without it.
Children grow up quickly.
Take it into your day
Someone grows up; someone else may bring them up.
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