An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'Show Up', with examples and exercises.
Hello and welcome to my blog all about English phrasal verbs. Each week, I take a different phrasal verb and look at how it is used by native speakers, with a focus on the different meanings that it has and the expressions and idioms that it is used in.
'Show up' is a well known and frequently used informal phrasal verb and I am sure that you know at least one meaning of it. It may actually surprise you that it has a total of five different meanings and in this post I will go through all of these to show you how native speakers use them, with plenty of examples to illustrate each usage.
So, without further ado, let's get started....
SHOW UP: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Common |
Number of meanings | 5 |
Separable | Sometimes |
Past forms | Showed up - Shown up |
British or American | Both |
For more explanation of the terms in the table above, click here.
THE BASICS
To begin with, let's take a look at the words 'show' and 'up' in order to gain an understanding of their key meanings, which in turn can help us better understand the phrasal verb meanings.
'To show' is a verb which means to allow or cause something to be visible or perceived by other people. This is often very visual in nature as when we show something to someone, we intentionally bring their attention to it, so that they can look at or watch it.
The prepositional particle 'up' is used to describe a higher position or movement away from the ground and towards the sky or to a higher position. 'Up' also has many other usages in English and one that is noteworthy for this post is when it is used as an adverb to mean 'into view or attention', often used with other 'up' phrasal verbs such as 'bring up' and 'come up'.
So, what meanings do we have in English when we combine these two words. Read on to find out more....
MEANING 1: To be clearly visible or noticed
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
British or American? | Both |
Potential synonyms | To be visible, to be conspicuous |
Our first meaning of 'show up' is 'to be clearly visible or noticed'. In other words, if something 'shows up', we are able to see or notice it.
With the visual aspect of this first usage, it is clear that it is derived from the verb 'to show', however the two do not mean the exact same and are used differently. The key difference between them is that when we show something, there is an intention behind our action, in other words we want it to be seen, whereas with 'show up' there is no intention to show anything or bring it to anyone's attention. In fact, it is frequently used when something is still visible despite efforts to try and hide it.
On a grammatical level there is also a difference between the two. We often use the verb 'to show' with a direct object and also an indirect object, i.e. we show something to someone (e.g. "I showed my friend my new house"). On the other hand, we cannot use 'show up' with an object; it is rather used to say that something can be seen by other people and no object is required.
'Show up' is regularly used in the medical world to talk about tests for diseases and antibodies and also x-rays and scans. Moreover, we use it often in IT and computers when we talk about searches and things that are visible on our screen. Outside of these, we can use it to talk about anything that is visible or noticeable, especially after attempts have been made to hide or cover it such as stains on clothes or a credit enquiry on a credit report.
Examples of usage....
I've just received the results of my scan and thankfully nothing bad showed up on it!
If two lines show up on a pregnancy test, it means that it is a positive result.
I've tried to delete this window on my computer screen but it keeps showing up and won't go away!
Despite having washed her favourite shirt several times, the red wine stain still showed up on it.
A strange transaction has shown up on my bank statement, so I am going to call the bank now and find out what it relates to.
MEANING 2: To expose the true nature of someone
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
British or American? | British |
Potential synonyms | To expose someone |
Meaning number two of 'show up' is 'to expose the true nature of someone or something', normally when it is something bad. This meaning is not too different from the first one that we have just covered as it is also about something becoming visible to others, however in this case it is a person's true nature. Alternatively, this meaning of 'show up' can be used with reference to the true nature of something, such as an organisation.
As I said previously, this application of 'show up' is usually used when someone or something is revealed to be bad or negative in some and you may therefore hear it used with nouns like 'liar', 'hypocrite', 'idiot'.
For this application of 'show up' we can use the additional prepositions 'as' and 'for', as well as the verb infinitive 'to be', to specify what the exposed true nature of something is.
In addition, if someone does something to expose themselves and show their own true nature, we can use the reflexive pronouns himself, herself, themselves etc.
Examples of usage....
Through the publication of his private text messages, the politician was shown up to be an uncaring and horrible person.
The newspaper reports have shown him up as a spoilt and petulant soccer player.
During a stressful day in the office, Lisa showed herself up as the horrible and spiteful person that she really is.
The government has shown itself up to be incompetent and ineffective.
Meaning 3: To arrive
CEFR Language Level | B1 - Intermediate |
Usage | Common |
British or American? | Both |
Potential synonyms | To arrive, to turn up |
The third meaning of 'show up' is one that I think many of you will already be aware of as it is in common use in English: to arrive.
When we use 'show up' in the sense of 'to arrive', it is often to talk about arriving at a planned event or gathering. It is commonly used when there is something unexpected about the arrival such as the person arrives later than expected, is wearing something strange or does not arrive at all and this usage is very similar to that of the phrasal verb 'turn up'. Moreover, we can also use 'show up' to talk about unexpected arrivals of any kind, such as when you have an uninvited guest at your house.
In very informal English, it is also possible to omit the preposition 'up' for this meaning and just have the word 'show', e.g. "I had a party last night and hardly anybody showed". Please note that you cannot do the same with 'turn up'.
Examples of usage....
John showed up to work this morning an hour late because he slept through his alarm.
My friend didn't show up to the restaurant this evening, which is really unlike him! I hope he is ok.
Everyone showed up to the school prom on time, except for the teachers!
My cousin showed up at my front door at 3am this morning and woke me up.
MEANING 4: To embarrass someone
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
British or American | Both - more British |
Potential synonyms | To embarrass, to humiliate |
Our fourth meaning of 'show up' is to 'embarrass or to humiliate someone' and for this one we have a direct object, which is the person who is being embarrassed. This direct object (the person) tends to go between 'show' and 'up' and in fact 'to show someone up' is a great synonym for 'to embarrass someone'. Please note that placing the object after 'show up' tends to sound wrong to native ears for the most part.
In British English, we use 'to show someone up' when a person is embarrassed or humiliated due to somebody else's behaviour or conduct. This could be in a professional work situation but more often than not it is likely to be in a family or social situation.
On a more global English level, 'show up' is often used when someone is made to feel embarrassed or stupid because somebody else does something better than they do.
Examples of usage....
I can't believe you behaved like that in front of my colleagues. You really showed me up!
Lisa really showed Helen up during the charity event when she told the guests that she had done all of the preparation work and Helen had done nothing.
I don't want to play football amateurs, I'm too good and I will just show them up!
When the two singers started singing, the older lady was much better than the younger lady and really showed her up.
MEANING 5 : To be there for someone
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
British or American? | Both - more American |
Potential synonyms | To be there for someone |
Our fifth and final meaning of 'show up' is 'to be there for someone when they need it' and for this usage we need the extra preposition 'for' before the pronoun or person's name.
If you are not sure what 'to be there for someone means', think of the theme tune from the 90s sitcom Friends if you know it. If you don't know it, here it is...
To be there for someone basically means to be attentive, comforting and supportive to someone when they are having a bad time or are feeling sad, depressed or upset. In other words, to be a good friend or relative to someone.
To 'show up for someone' to mean 'to be there for someone' is a relatively new usage of 'show up' and is found primarily in American English, although it would be certainly be understood by many British speakers, particularly younger ones.
Examples of usage....
My best friends showed up for me when I broke up with my last boyfriend.
When your husband or wife needs support, you should always be the first person to show up for them.
EXERCISE Re-write the following sentences using 'to show up'....
We didn't see any signs of the disease on the test results.
Despite putting the background on my video call, the picture on wall still appeared on the computer screen.
This article reveals the truth about John; that he is an adulterer and a liar.
My mother really embarrassed me in front of all my friends yesterday.
My birthday party started at 8pm but nobody arrived until after 9pm.
Lisa was there for Helen when her father was sick.
The answers will be available on next week's post.
EXERCISE ANSWERS FROM 'TAKE ON' (other variations may be possible)
Due to high growth in the company, we are looking to TAKE ON some new staff.
I needed some extra money so I've TAKEN ON a new part time job at the weekends.
Birmingham City are TAKING ON the league champions Manchester City this evening.
The song has become really popular and has TAKEN ON a life of its own.
The ferry stopped at Dover to TAKE ON passengers.
She has TAKEN IT UPON herself to start doing the accounting reports every day without checking with any of her colleagues.
That is the end of today's post. Thank you so much for taking the time to read it and I sincerely hope that it has helped you a little bit further on your English learning journey.
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