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Everyday English · People & feelings

Give up

Stop trying to do something.

You stop trying to do something. The action may feel difficult, or you may decide that you no longer want to continue.

Plain-English lessonVisual explanation3 practice steps

01 · Picture the situation

Understand it in three steps

01You try
02It feels difficult
03You stop trying

Imagine this: Omar tries several ways to solve a puzzle. After a while, he stops and puts it away without solving it. He gives up on the puzzle.

02 · Hear it in everyday life

Examples you can use

Three natural sentences

  1. The question was difficult, but I did not give up.
  2. She gave up trying to open the old lock.
  3. Do not give up after one mistake.

A short conversation

PERSON AI cannot solve this yet.
PERSON BTake a short break before you decide to give up.

Read the conversation aloud. Then swap roles and try it again without looking.

03 · Build your sentence

How to use give up

Give up can stand alone. Before an activity, use an -ing form: give up trying. You can also give up on a task or hope. The object and context help identify the meaning.

BASE FORMgive up
PAST SIMPLEgave up
AFTER HAVE / HASgiven up

The base form is used after can, will and to. The past simple describes a finished past event. The third form follows have or has, for example when connecting an earlier action to now.

A common mistake to avoid

Use thisShe gave up trying.
Avoid this in this meaningShe gave up to try.

When an activity follows give up directly, use the -ing form, not to + verb.

Do not confuse it: Give up means stop trying. Take a break means pause with the possibility of continuing. Resting is not automatically giving up.

Does it have another meaning?

Give up can also mean stop a habit, such as “give up smoking”, or surrender something. This lesson focuses on stopping an attempt.

Learn the meaning and sentence pattern together. Small words such as up and off do not have one fixed meaning in every expression.

04 · Make it stick

Try it for yourself

Choose an answer before opening the explanation. Then make a sentence about your own life.

1. You stop attempting a puzzle without solving it. You…
  1. carry on
  2. give up
  3. set it up
Check answer 1

B. give up

Giving up means stopping the attempt.

2. He gave up ___ the broken lock.
  1. to repair
  2. trying to repair
  3. try repair
Check answer 2

B. trying to repair

Give up is followed by an -ing form: trying.

3. Your turn

Describe a time when you kept trying instead of giving up.

See a possible model and self-check

The question was difficult, but I did not give up.

This is one model, not the only correct answer. Check that your sentence uses the meaning taught here, the right verb form and the word order above. Change the person, place or time to make it your own.