22. Focus on: the particle upand the adverbsright andall

The particle up is used in many phrasal verbs, and one of its uses is to say that something has been done thoroughly or completely:

The building burned. (The building was damaged but not destroyed.)

The building burned up. (The building was completely destroyed.)

Right, discussed in Section 19, is often used in phrasal verbs with up to indicate that the action of the verb not only happened thoroughly and completely but also quickly:

They ate it up. (They ate all the food.)

They ate it right up. (They ate all the food, and they ate it quickly.)

Remember that right can be used in this way only after an object that is separat­ing the verb and particle:

They ate the pizza right up.

They ate right up the pizza.

Even though up indicates that the action of the verb is thorough and complete, all is sometimes used for further emphasis with participle adjectives derived from phrasal verbs with up:

My taxes are all paid up.

The drain is all plugged up.

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1. burn up p.v. When something is completely destroyed by heat or fire, it burns up.

The meteor burned up in the atmosphere.

The rocket's fuel will burn up after only forty seconds.

2. burn... up p.v. When people or things destroy something with heat or fire, they burn it up.

There's no more coal. We burned it all up.

Jet engines burn up fuel at a tremendous rate.

burned up part.adj. After something is completely destroyed by heat or fire, it is burned up.

There isn't anymore firewood; it's all burned up.

The house is all burned up. There's no way it can be saved.

3. burned ... up p.v. [informal] When something makes you very angry, it burns you up.

It really burns me up when other people take credit for my work.

I have to say something to Sally about what she did. It's burning me up.

burned up part.adj. [informal] When you are very angry, you are burned up.

Jim was burned up when his boss criticized him during the meeting.

Relax — it's nothing to get all burned up about.