End up in

[Rachel Adams]

Hello.

Is the sentence correct?

''Their relationship ended up in a (happy) marriage.'' There is no context. I was wondering if it is possible to use the phrasal verb ''end up in'' in this way.

 

[GoesStation]

No.

 

[Rachel Adams]

No.

What expression would you use instead?

 

[GoesStation]

What expression would you use instead?

One possibility:
Their relationship evolved into a happy marriage.

 

[emsr2d2]

You could get away with just "ended with" with quite a lot of extra information and some sense of difference between the two parts of the relationship.

Their five-year torrid extra-marital affair ended with forty years of happy marriage.

I'm clutching at straws though, if I'm honest. Even my sentence would sound better with "evolved into" or "turned into".

 

[tedmc]

How about:
Their relationship blossomed into/culminated in a happy marriage?

 

[jutfrank]

Your question is really not clear.

Are you asking about the meaning or about the use of the phrasal verb end up? (Note that it's end up, and not end up in.) Or are you asking about when to follow this phrasal verb with the preposition in?

You example sentence is wrong mainly because it doesn't make sense. Getting married is not the end of a relationship. Look at the following examples to see the difference between end and end up:

Their relationship ended in divorce.

Their relationship ended up in constant bickering and name-calling.

Note that the preposition in is not connected to the verb but to the following blue parts.

 

[Yankee]

Hello.

Is the sentence correct?

''Their relationship ended up in a (happy) marriage.'' There is no context. I was wondering if it is possible to use the phrasal verb ''end up in'' in this way.

It would be understood as such with or without "happy". However, use of "end(ed) up in" typically concludes with some negative or unpleasant action or event.

 

[jutfrank]

It would be understood as such with or without "happy".

I'm not sure what you mean. Understood as what?

 

[Rachel Adams]

Your question is really not clear.

Are you asking about the meaning or about the use of the phrasal verb end up? (Note that it's end up, and not end up in.) Or are you asking about when to follow this phrasal verb with the preposition in?

You example sentence is wrong mainly because it doesn't make sense. Getting married is not the end of a relationship. Look at the following examples to see the difference between end and end up:

Their relationship ended in divorce.

Their relationship ended up in constant bickering and name-calling.

Note that the preposition in is not connected to the verb but to the following blue parts.

I was asking about the phrasal verb end up with or without in. You wrote ''ended up in constant bockering and name calling.'' I was wondering if I could use the same construction and say in a happy marriage instead. Maybe grammatically it is not wrong, but it doesn't sound natural obviously or am I wrong?

 

[Yankee]

I'm not sure what you mean. Understood as what?

Understood as ending/resulting in a happy marriage.

 

[jutfrank]

I was wondering if I could use the same construction and say in a happy marriage instead. Maybe grammatically it is not wrong, but it doesn't sound natural obviously or am I wrong?

As I've pointed out above, the problem for me is with the sense. We use end up when we're talking about the final state of something, particularly when the idea is that there is a change from one state to another.

If you were to change the word relationship to, say, love affair, it would make better sense.

Their love affair ended up in a happy marriage.

Can you see how this better expresses the idea that the state of their relationship changed from an earlier state to a final state?

 

[Rachel Adams]

As I've pointed out above, the problem for me is with the sense. We use end up when we're talking about the final state of something, particularly when the idea is that there is a change from one state to another.

If you were to change the word relationship to, say, love affair, it would make better sense.

Their love affair ended up in a happy marriage.

Can you see how this better expresses the idea that the state of their relationship changed from an earlier state to a final state?

Yes, I see. In my Russian sentence love affair instead of relationship also sounds better. But I coud probably say, just like in Russian(maybe) talking about a different situation ''Their relationship ended up in a love affair.''

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes, I see. In my Russian sentence love affair instead of relationship also sounds better. But I could probably say, just like in Russian (maybe), but talking about a different situation ''Their relationship ended up in a love affair.''

Please note my corrections above.

I don't find your new sentence natural. Most native speakers would understand "their relationship" to mean "their romantic relationship". Consequently, it's tautologous - a romantic relationship can't turn into a love affair. It already is one. You could say something like "Their platonic relationship turned into a love affair" (platonic relationship = friendship)

 

[jutfrank]

If the aim is simply to practise controlling the use of the phrasal verb end up, I suggest using examples that don't use the word relationship, which seems to be unnecessarily confusing things.

You could just say:

They ended up married.
They ended up getting married.
They ended up in a loving marriage.
They ended up as husband and wife.

It's actually more common in English to have a person/people as the subject of the verb.

 

[Rachel Adams]

As I've pointed out above, the problem for me is with the sense. We use end up when we're talking about the final state of something, particularly when the idea is that there is a change from one state to another.

If you were to change the word relationship to, say, love affair, it would make better sense.

Their love affair ended up in a happy marriage.

Can you see how this better expresses the idea that the state of their relationship changed from an earlier state to a final state?

But if native speakers would understand "their relationship" to mean "their romantic relationship" and a romantic relationship can't turn into a love affair. It already is one'' as emsr2d2 said, then why was my original sentence wrong? ''Their relationship=love affair ended up in a happy marriage.'':shock: Could you please explain once again?