student asking question

Is it okay using "blown" without "up" to say "spoil something"? To be precise, shouldn't it suppose to be "blow up"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

No, it does not need to be "blow up." It is okay to use "blown" without using "up" after it. This is because "blown" and "blown up" have different meanings. In this case, it means to ruin. When she says that he could have blown months of work, she is saying that he could have ruined the case and all of the work that was done. "Blown up" or "blow up" has a different meaning; it means to destroy something with an explosion. Here are examples of "blown" being used in the same context. Ex: He could have blown the entire operation! Ex: I blew it. I can't believe I ruined the surprise.

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