[Idiom] Finish (Up)

[TinaCh]

"He finished his work."
"He finished up his work."

Are those two the same?

 

[Barb_D]

Hi and welcome to Using English.

They are largely the same. "Finishing up" implies that there was only a little bit left to do.

 

[TinaCh]

"Finish" implies (possibly) a lot of work to do before the end, and "finish up" implies very little work to do before the end?

 

[Barb_D]

Since your sentence is in the past, either way, the work is completed. The difference is that "finished up" talks about the last bit remaining.

Once the task is completed, there's very little difference.

 

[emsr2d2]

- Are you ready?
- No, I haven't finished yet.

This gives no indication as to how long it will be until Person 2 has finished.

- Are you ready?
- No, but I'm just finishing up.

This suggests that Person 2 has nearly finished and won't be much longer.