Grammar fix
put up to
encourage someone to do something (often wrong)
to persuade or encourage someone to do something, especially something they probably shouldn’t do
phrasal verbB2occasional
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
- Who put you up to playing that prank on your teacher?daily life
- In my opinion, peer pressure can be dangerous because friends might put you up to making bad decisions.IELTS speaking
Fix the pattern
Pattern: put someone up to something
WrongHis mates put him up to do it.
RightHis mates put him up to it. / ...put him up to doing it.
'Put someone up to' + noun or '-ing' (or just 'it') — not a to-infinitive.
Patternput someone up to something
Use it right
Choose the version that sounds natural in speech.
'Put up to' is the natural way to say someone egged another on; 'incite to commit' is legalistic.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
put + someone + up tohim up to ityou up to thisup to no goodup to doing it
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'put up with', which means to tolerate something.