Give in X Give up

Can you explain to me the difference between to give up and to give in?

( I have consulted several dictionaries and I understand that the structure is different and they can´t be used interchangeably. But some cases puzzled me.)

E.g: I did my best to do the math test, but it was impossible as it was too hard. So, I gave in. ( Is this correct? I understand to give in as the same as "to accept sth even though you´re reluctant to", but in this case, can you say the that you accepted your defeat, as long as the difficulty of the test overcame you?)

Thanks,

Andréa.

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by apparrode

Can you explain to me the difference between to give up and to give in?

( I have consulted several dictionaries and I understand that the structure is different and they can´t be used interchangeably. But some cases puzzled me.)

E.g: I did my best to do the math test, but it was impossible as it was too hard. So, I gave in. ( Is this correct? I understand to give in as the same as "to accept sth even though you´re reluctant to", but in this case, can you say the that you accepted your defeat, as long as the difficulty of the test overcame you?)

Thanks,

Andréa.

I understand your confusion. We usually "give up" on a project or task, or in a competition of some sort. We can "give up" on a person, but that usually treats the person as a project. We usually "give in" to a person, an idea, a demand, etc.

You would "give up" on your math test. :wink:

[RonBee]

What Mike said. :wink:

You "give up" when you stop trying. You "give in" when you accept the other person's argument.

:)