Meaning trap
add up
calculate the total
To 'add up' means to calculate the total of several numbers or amounts.
Don't mix these meanings
Same phrase, different job.
To 'add up' means to calculate the total of several numbers or amounts.
Another meaning of 'add up' is 'make sense'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
Can you add up these receipts for me?
In my part-time job, I often have to add up the sales at the end of the day.
Fix the pattern
One small grammar move makes it sound right.
Not: Add up them for me.
Say: Add them up for me.
With a pronoun, the object goes in the middle: 'add them up'.
Which sounds natural?
Tap the one a native speaker would say.
'Add up' is the everyday verb for totalling numbers; 'calculate the sum of' is textbook.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
add up + numbers
- the numbers
- the bill
- the total
- the cost
Don't confuse it
Related
Other meanings and phrases to compare.
- add up (make sense) — Another meaning of 'add up' is 'make sense'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.