Meaning & use
gone up
Last updated
“gone up” is a form of “go up”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitive
to have increased in amount, level, or price.
Grammar: Used after have/has/had as the past participle of 'go up'; it takes no object.
Patterns
- something has gone up
- prices have gone up
- gone up by something
The price of coffee has gone up again this month.
Rents have gone up by ten percent in two years.
Has the temperature gone up since this morning?
verbintransitive
to have moved to a higher position or level.
Grammar: No object; often used with 'to' or 'into' to show the destination.
Patterns
- gone up to something
- gone up into something
- gone up the stairs
She has gone up to her room to study.
The balloon has gone up into the clouds.
He's gone up the ladder to fix the roof.
verbintransitive
to have been built or put in place, especially quickly.
Grammar: No object; used about buildings, signs, or structures that appear.
Patterns
- something has gone up
- a building has gone up
New apartment blocks have gone up all over the city.
A fence has gone up around the empty lot.
Common combinations
- prices have gone up
- Prices have gone up so much that we eat out less.
- gone up by
- The number of visitors has gone up by 20 percent.
- gone up to
- She has gone up to the office to get her keys.
- gone up in flames
- The old barn has gone up in flames.
Synonyms and how they differ
- risen
- More formal and often used for prices, temperatures, or levels; 'gone up' is more conversational.
- increased
- Neutral and slightly formal; 'gone up' sounds more natural in everyday speech about prices.
- climbed
- Suggests a gradual movement upward, often for numbers or figures; 'gone up' is more general.
Opposites
Word family
- go up verb
- The base form, meaning to increase or move higher.
- went up verb
- Simple past form, used for a finished action in the past.
- going up verb
- Present participle, used in continuous tenses.
Commonly confused: gone up or went up?
gone up vs went up
'Went up' is simple past: 'Prices went up last year.' 'Gone up' is past participle and needs have/has/had: 'Prices have gone up.'
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
'Have gone up' is correct because 'gone' is the past participle after 'have'. Option A uses 'went', which is simple past and cannot follow 'have'. Option C has wrong subject-verb agreement with 'prices'. Option D adds a tag that doesn't match the auxiliary 'have'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “gone up”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.