Today we will learn the phrase 'fire up'. This is a very useful phrasal verb in English. Let's start by learning its pronunciation: fire up, pronounced as /ˈfaɪər ʌp/. The word 'fire' sounds like 'fai-er' and 'up' is pronounced as 'uhp'. Fire up has several important meanings in English.
Fire up has three main meanings. First, it means to ignite or start up something, like starting a machine or computer. Second, it means to motivate or inspire someone, to make them excited and energetic. Third, it can mean to make someone angry or upset. Let's look at each meaning with visual examples.
Now let's learn the grammar patterns of fire up. First pattern: fire up plus a device or machine, meaning to start or turn on equipment. Second pattern: fire up plus a person, meaning to motivate or inspire someone. Third pattern: fire someone up, meaning to make someone angry or upset. Each pattern has different usage contexts.
Let's see fire up in real sentences. First example: 'Let me fire up the computer' means to start or turn on the computer. Second example: 'The coach fired up the team' means the coach motivated and inspired the team members. Third example: 'Don't fire him up' means don't make him angry or upset. These examples show how fire up works in different contexts.
Now let's test your understanding with a multiple choice question. What does fire up mean in the sentence 'Please fire up the engine'? Is it A, make angry, B, start up, or C, motivate? Take two seconds to think about it. The correct answer is B, start up. In this context, fire up the engine means to start or turn on the engine.