The kitchen becomes warmer, Lea heats food and the players prepare to play. Warm up links these everyday uses; singers can warm up their voices too.

The idea

Without an object: the kitchen warms up or the players warm up. With an object: warm up the rice / warm the rice up, but warm it up. The past is warmed; the -ing form is warming.

Examples

  • The kitchen warms up when the oven is on.
  • Lea warmed up the rice for lunch.
  • Lea warmed the rice up for lunch.
  • Can you warm it up for me?
  • The players are warming up beside the court.
  • Mina warms up her voice before the concert.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic English voice on your device. Quality and availability vary; it does not assess pronunciation.

Watch out

The verb has two words: warm up. A preparation activity can be a warm-up or warmup as a noun. Warming up does not necessarily make something extremely hot.

Try it yourself

  1. Choose the correct option. The rice is cold. Can you warm ___? (it up / up it)

    Show answer or example answer

    it up

    The pronoun it stands for the rice and must go before up.

  2. Choose the correct option. The players are ___ up beside the court. (warming / warmed)

    Show answer or example answer

    warming

    After are, an action in progress needs warming, the -ing form.

  3. Choose the correct option. Mina ___ up her voice before each concert. (warms / warm)

    Show answer or example answer

    warms

    The singular subject Mina takes warms for this repeated routine.

Use it today

Write one sentence about a place becoming warmer, one about heating food and one about preparing to perform. Put a pronoun between warm and up once.