SpeakUp

Grammar fix

end up

finally be in a situation

to reach a place or situation after a series of events, often without planning to.

phrasal verbB1core

Hear it in context

Notice where the phrase sounds natural.

  • We took a wrong turn and ended up at the beach instead of the museum.daily life
  • I planned to study engineering, but I ended up choosing psychology because I found it more interesting.IELTS speaking

Fix the pattern

Pattern: end up + (verb-ing) / end up + preposition + noun

WrongI ended up to run the meeting.

RightI ended up running the meeting.

'End up' takes -ing (or a place/adjective), never a to-infinitive.

Patternend up + (verb-ing) / end up + preposition + noun

Use it right

Choose the version that sounds natural in speech.

Stiff I eventually arrived in a situation of leading my own team.

Natural I ended up leading my own team.

'End up' captures an unplanned outcome in two words. 'Eventually arrived in a situation of' is clumsy and unnatural.

Build natural chunks

Words that usually travel with it.

  • end up + outcome
    doing somethingsomewherein troublealone

Don't confuse it

Do not confuse with 'finish', which means to complete something, not to arrive at an unexpected result.

Try it in Daily Speak →