Meaning trap
wake up
make someone aware
To make someone realize or notice something, especially something important.
Don't mix these meanings
Same phrase, different job.
To make someone realize or notice something, especially something important.
Another meaning of 'wake up' is 'stop sleeping'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
The news report woke people up to the dangers of air pollution.
Traveling abroad can wake you up to different cultures and ways of thinking.
Fix the pattern
One small grammar move makes it sound right.
Not: The crisis woke them up the risks.
Say: The crisis woke them up to the risks.
'Wake someone up TO' something — don't drop 'to'.
Which sounds natural?
Tap the one a native speaker would say.
'Wake up to' is the idiomatic way to say people finally became aware; the formal version is flat.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
wake up + to
- to the truth
- to reality
- to the dangers
- the public
Don't confuse it
Related
Other meanings and phrases to compare.
- wake up (stop sleeping) — Another meaning of 'wake up' is 'stop sleeping'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.