Phrasal verbs · Free lesson
Show up: arrive for a meeting or event
You were waiting for a friend. Now they are here. How do you describe their arrival?
Professor Scott MendozaMeaning in this lesson
show up
Arrive for a meeting, gathering or event.
Example
“Mina showed up at seven.”
Mina arrived at seven. We need the planned time to know whether she was late.
The short answer
Show up can mean arrive for a meeting or event. It is informal. Someone can show up early, on time or late; the expression alone does not tell you which.
The arrival and the time are separate details.
Use show up in everyday conversation when someone arrives. Add early, on time or late if that detail matters. In a finished past story, say showed up. To say the arrival did not happen, use didn’t show up.
Use the time you actually know.
Did Mina come to the game?
Yes. She showed up at seven, before we started.
Showed up tells us Mina arrived. Before we started supplies the extra time detail.
Report an arrival clearly
Name the person
Mina showed up.
Add a known detail
She showed up at seven.
Keep missing information open
If you do not know the planned time, do not assume she was late.
Try it now
Check what you’ve learned.
Read all answers and explanations
“Sam showed up for the game.” What do we know?
Sam arrived.We know Sam arrived. No time detail tells us he was late.
Complete a finished past statement: “Yesterday, Mina ___ at seven.”
showed upYesterday places this arrival in the finished past: showed up.
The meeting ended, and Lee never arrived. Which sentence reports that?
Lee didn’t show up.After didn’t, use the base form show. The sentence says the arrival did not happen.
Build it yourself
Report when your friend arrived.
The game started at eight. Your friend arrived at seven. Begin with “My friend” and finish with the time phrase.
Put all three pieces in order. Select a piece again to move it back.
Your sentence
0 of 3 piecesYour chosen pieces will appear here.
See a model answer
My friend showed up at seven.
“My friend showed up at seven.” The arrival was before the game started, so show up does not automatically mean late.
A little more clarity
Common questions
A few useful details before you move on.
Does show up always mean arrive late?
No. You can say that someone showed up early or on time. Give the timing detail when it matters.
“Ella showed up ten minutes early.”
Is it didn’t show up or didn’t showed up?
Use didn’t show up. Didn’t already marks the past, so the next verb is the base form show.
“Ben didn’t show up for the game.”
Take it into your day
Think of a gathering you attended. Say who showed up, then add one time detail you remember.
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