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1. To rip up something (or rip something up) is to remove something (e.g. a carpet) from a floor, or to remove a surface (e.g. a road) by digging it up.
Examples of use:
a) Shall we rip up our old carpet and buy a new rug?
b) Our house flooded and we had to rip up our carpets and throw them away.
c) The builders ripped up our old driveway and put a new one down.
d) The workmen ripped up the pavement on our street because it was full of potholes and cracks.
2. To rip up something (or rip something up) is to tear something into small pieces.
Examples of use:
a) He ripped my letter up and threw it in the bin.
b) She angrily ripped up all her photos of her ex-boyfriend.
c) My English essay was awful so I ripped it up and started again.
3. To rip up something (or rip something up) is to pull it from the ground.
Examples of use:
a) Hurricane winds ripped up trees and telephone poles, and blew down buildings.
b) The vandals ripped up all the plants in the park.
c) News headline: Protesters rip up GM crops.
4. To rip up an agreement, contract, or plan is to decide that it is useless and stop using it.
Example of use:
BBC News headline: Rip up the benefits system.
| infinitive | rip up |
| present simple | rip up and rips up |
| -ing form | ripping up |
| past simple | ripped up |
| past participle | ripped up |
Practise your English and write a comment using this phrasal verb 
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About Angela Boothroyd
