give up on him

Meanings

1. 1phrasefixed phrase

   to stop hoping that someone will improve or succeed, and stop trying to help them

   Grammar: The pronoun comes after on: give up on him. You cannot say give him up on.

   Patterns

   • give up on someone
   • give up on yourself

   His teachers gave up on him after he missed too many classes.

   Don't give up on him yet — he's only been learning for a month.

   She felt like everyone had given up on her, so she stopped trying.

2. 2phrasefixed phrase

   to stop believing that something will happen or be successful

   Grammar: Used with a thing or situation, not a person: give up on the project.

   Patterns

   • give up on something
   • give up on a dream

   The team gave up on the season after losing ten games in a row.

   I haven't given up on the idea of moving abroad someday.

Common combinations

give up on someone

Her parents refused to give up on her.

give up on a dream

He gave up on his dream of becoming a pilot.

never give up on

A good coach never gives up on a player.

feel like giving up on

I feel like giving up on this whole plan.

Synonyms and how they differ

lose hope in

Close in meaning, but it describes your feeling rather than your decision to stop helping.

write off

Stronger and more final; it suggests you have decided someone is a total failure.

Opposites

Word family

give up phrasal verb

To stop doing something or stop trying.

give-up noun

Informal: a person who stops trying too easily.

Commonly confused: give up on him or give up?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “give up on him”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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