End up means to finally be in a place or do something after a series of events. It usually describes a result you did not plan: you meant to go to the cinema but stayed at home instead. After “end up”, you can name a place (“end up in Milan”), an action with -ing (“end up paying more”) or what you were left with (“end up with a cold”).
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end up + -ing; end up in/at + place; end up with + noun
- We missed the last train and ended up sleeping at a friend's flat.
- She applied for a marketing role but ended up working in sales.
- If you don't plan your revision, you'll end up with too much to learn the night before the exam.
What changed
First versionWe ended up to stay at home because of the rain.
RevisionWe ended up staying at home because of the rain.
After “end up”, the action takes the -ing form: “ended up staying”. “To stay” is not possible here. The mistake comes from phrases like “decided to stay”, but “end up” works differently.
“Finally” also talks about how a story ends, but the meaning is different. “Finally” means that something you expected has happened at last: We finally found the hotel. “End up” says that things turned out differently from the plan: We ended up in a different hotel.
Your turn
The shop near my flat was closed, so I ended up ___ the batteries online.
Show the answer
ordering — After “ended up”, the second verb takes -ing, so the correct form is “ordering”. “To order” would work after “decided” or “had”, but not after “end up”.
Think of a trip or weekend that did not go to plan. Write what you meant to do and how it actually turned out. Use “ended up” + -ing.
We planned to hike all Saturday, but it rained, so we ended up watching films at the hostel.
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