Meaning trap
do up
renovate
To repair, decorate, or improve a building, room, or object to make it look better or work better.
Don't mix these meanings
Same phrase, different job.
To repair, decorate, or improve a building, room, or object to make it look better or work better.
Another meaning of 'do up' is 'fasten'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
- They bought an old house and spent months doing it up.home
- If I had more money, I would do up my apartment to make it more comfortable and modern.IELTS speaking
Fix the pattern
Pattern: do up + noun
WrongThey did up with the kitchen.
RightThey did up the kitchen.
'Do up + place' — no 'with'.
Patterndo up + noun
Use it right
Choose the version that sounds natural in speech.
'Refurbish the property extensively' is estate-agent formal; 'do up' is conversational.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
do up + propertythe housean old flatthe placenicely
Don't confuse it
'Do up' (renovate) is broader than 'repair', which only means to fix something that is broken.
Related
- do up (fasten) — Another meaning of 'do up' is 'fasten'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.