Based on this excerpt from Ernest Hemingway's "In Another Country," what is the contextual meaning of the phrase "take up"? "Ah,
yes," the major said. "Why, then, do you not take up the use of grammar?" So we took up the use of grammar, and soon Italian was such a difficult language that I was afraid to talk to him until I had the grammar straight in my mind.
The contextual meaning of the phrase "take up" in the story will mean the actual practice and use of grammar in speaking Italian.
Explanation:
To take up something basically means to try to practice, put into practice and use or do it in action anything, the thing being taken up. It is a phrasal verb that implies the start and use of anything.
<em>For example, to take up tennis means to practice and start playing tennis.</em>
Likewise, when the major said "to take up the use of grammar", he means that he should actually put into practice and start using and learning grammar.
