"up": adjective or preposition

In 2011 two-way trade turnover between the two countries reached $167 million, up 9.8 percent over 2010.

I think the phrase “up 9.8 percent over 2010” means “which (turnover) was up 9.8 percent over 2010”.
However, I am a bit confused about the word “up”. Is it an adjective or preposition here?

I think it should be ‘up by 9.8%’. In my view ‘up’ functions as an adverb, but I’m not sure of it.

It is correct as it stands.

Turnover is frequently described in terms of going up or down and ‘by’ is not necessary.

Hello T_H_Lawrence and Beeesneees, thank you for helps!
Can you tell me your opinion about the word “up” here? Do you think that it is an adjective or a preposition?
Is it true that both (adjective and preposition) are possible in this case?
I feel much more confident to use it if knowing why it is used. Therefore, I would like to hear your opinion.

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Screen:

My dictionary agrees with T.H.: “up” is an adverb in your sentence.


Let’s try to parse this sentence: The turnover is up 9.8 percent.

In my opinion:

The turnover = the subject.
is = a full verb (not a linking verb).
up = adverb (or “particle”) that modifies the verb.
9.8 percent = noun phrase that is being used as an adverb to modify the verb.

That is: The turnover is up to the extent of 9.8 percent.

Compare:

The turnover has gone up 9.8 percent.
The turnover has risen 9.8 percent.
The turnover has increased 9.8 percent.

James

Thank you, James.

By the way, it is really strange that many people (including the elite and the educated) always use: gone up by; risen by, increased by etc. Maybe to emphasize the quantum of rise. Haven’t you ever actually used it or even seen/heard it used?

Incidentally, I have been experiencing an irritating delay while logging in or posting or replying for some time now. And when it shows an error we tend to press the ‘send’ button again resulting in repeats.

I think Torsten or someone else is deleting the repeats.

Hello, T.H.

  1. I checked some online dictionaries (such as “Longman,” and its examples did, indeed, include the preposition “by”).

  2. When I posted those comments above, that one post was repeated about four times. So I took the time and effort to delete those duplicates.

James

P.S. I assume that these problems are due to the fact that the website has succeeded in getting rid of spam. In the process, though, some imperfections have arisen that are causing delays, duplicate posts, etc. I guess that it is well worth the price if that is what it takes to get rid of the spam. (I am now going to “send message.” Hope there aren’t any duplicates!)

James, I’m not 100% sure, but I believe that the current problems with the site may have nothing specififcally to do with the anti-spam measures, but may be just generally due to instability and poor performance of the database.

James, I’m not 100% sure, but I believe that the current problems with the site may have nothing specififcally to do with the anti-spam measures, but may be just generally due to instability and poor performance of the database.

I have to say, “up” looks like an adjective to me there.

Thanks, Dozy.

I guess it depends on which dictionary one trusts.

I agree with you: it does look like an adjective, doesn’t it!

Thanks, Dozy.

I guess it depends on which dictionary one trusts.

I agree with you: it does look like an adjective, doesn’t it!

Thanks, Dozy.

As a computer illiterate, I do not know what those words mean, but I do know that – whatever the cause – I have been trying to access a new personal message all morning but have been unable to reach my inbox. The system just freezes on me.

James

Thanks, Dozy.

As a computer illiterate, I do not know what those words mean, but I do know that – whatever the cause – I have been trying to access a new personal message all morning but have been unable to reach my inbox. The system just freezes on me.

James

Please see page 2.

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

To: Screen, T.H., Beeesneees, and Dozy:

The NEW OXFORD AMERICAN DICTIONARY says that in “Sales were up 22.8 percent,” the word “up” is an adverb.

The RANDOM HOUSE WEBSTER’S UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY says that in “The price of meat was up,” the word “up” is an adjective.


If we accept the latter’s interpretation, then:

The turnover = the subject
is = linking verb
up = adjective
by 9.8 percent = prepositional phrase that modifies the adjective “up.” (“by” is optional but necessary for analysis).


I thank you four persons for helping me to learn more about the word “up.”

James

Thank you, James, T.H, Dozy and Beeesneees!
I am relieved to hear that.

I find this interesting. I thought if the verb “to be” can be a full verb or not and it was confusing.
I usually see that “to be” is used as linking verb or auxiliary verb but it is not easy for me to find an example in which “to be” is used as a full verb.
Could you explain more about this, James?
I’d like to know it and use it.

The conclusion that ‘up’ is an adjective in the subject sentence should have put an end to our discussion. But, unfortunately, when I consult the Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English (ELBS & OUP), I find only three functions assigned to ‘up’, namely, adverb, preposition and verb. It is not labelled as an ‘adjective’. The very example given there to illustrate its function as an adverb is this: Prices are still going up.

Can’t we liken ‘The turnover ………… reached up …………’ to this example?

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Screen:

I think that many teachers cite Shakespeare’s example:

“To be, or not to be: that is the question.” – Hamlet, Act III. Sc 1

Professors Pence and Emery in their A GRAMMAR OF PRESENT-DAY ENGLISH say that “to be” in that sentence is a full verb; they say that “is” in that sentence is also a full verb. [Frankly, I have difficulty in understanding their interpretation of “is.”]

Their “easier” examples are:

“There are two ways to silence a talkative roommate.”
“Your guests are in the living room.”

In those examples, “are” = something like “exist.”


Professors House and Harman in their DESCRIPTIVE ENGLISH GRAMMAR give these examples:

“The baby is on the bed.”
“Whatever is, is right.” They explain that the first “is” is a full verb; the second “is” is a copulative (linking) verb.

James

“up” might be an adverb in “reached up” in other contexts, but “reached up” is not the correct association in the original sentence. “up” is part of a separate phrase.