"made up of"是英语中表示“由……组成/构成”的常用短语,强调整体与部分的关系——即某个“整体”是由哪些“部分”组合而成的。
"made up of"通常以被动语态形式出现(因为“整体”是“被(部分)组成”的),完整结构为:
主语:表示“整体”的名词或代词(如团队、物体、抽象概念等);
宾语:表示“部分/成分”的名词(可单数、复数或不可数);
强调组成的具体内容,而非“制作过程”或“材料来源”(这点需与"be made of/from"区分,见下文补充)。
1、 具体物体:The cake is made up of flour, sugar, eggs and butter.(这个蛋糕由面粉、糖、鸡蛋和黄油组成。)
2、 组织/团队:Our class is made up of 25 boys and 20 girls.(我们班由25个男生和20个女生组成。)
3、 抽象概念:A good story is made up of interesting characters, a tight plot and a meaningful theme.(一个好故事由有趣的角色、紧凑的情节和有意义的主题构成。)
4、 自然事物:The atmosphere is mainly made up of nitrogen and oxygen.(大气主要由氮气和氧气组成。)
"be made up of":强调“整体由部分组成”(关注“组成成分的清单”);
"be made of":强调“材料的可见性”(成品能看出原材料,如"The table is made of wood." 桌子是木头做的);
"be made from":强调“材料的不可见性”(成品无法直接看出原材料,如"Wine is made from grapes." 酒是葡萄做的)。
"made up of"本身是被动结构,不能说主动句(如×"Five members make up of the team."),需用被动:"The team is made up of five members."
可与"consist of"(无被动,更正式)或"be composed of"(更书面)互换,例如:
The team consists of five members.(= The team is made up of five members.)
The air is composed of various gases.(= The air is made up of various gases.)
"made up of"是描述“整体-部分关系”的核心短语,记住其被动结构和“整体在前、部分在后”的逻辑,就能准确使用啦!