Hi there, Both "check up things" or "check things up" sound odd. I assume that you mean "check up on". When we "check up on (someone)", we gather information about that person, often without him or her knowing. When we "check up on (something)", we also gather more information about it. I would modify your sentence like this: "It wasn't that long since your last call to check [on] me." We "check on" someone to find out if they are doing fine. I hope this helps.

If we are talking about a time period that began in the past and continues to now, we use the Present Perfect tense "It hasn't been long" - not the the Past Simple. From your example, it is not clear what your meaning is. Do you mean? 1. ""It hasn't been that long since you last called to catch up with me" [chat about our lives] 2. "It hasn't been that long since you last called to check on me" [check my current situation is OK] 3. "It hasn't been that long since you last called to check up on things with me" [check the details of my work/progress/situation] English phrasal verbs are complicated! Perhaps if you can explain your meaning using other words, a teacher will be able to explain more clearly which phrasal verb is correct.

Either word order is correct, in other words, you can say: check things up, or check up things. You could also leave out the 'up' in this case, and say 'check things'. The meaning would remain the same. You don't give any context, which makes it difficult to answer this question. If your example is part of a telephone conversation between two people, for example, then what I have said above will apply.

If using an adverb with the verb, as in this case, both forms are correct, unless the object is a pronoun. Examples. "Check Paris out" and "Check out Paris" are both correct. But you cannot say "Check out it", while "Check it out" is fine, as 'it' is a pronoun. If you are using a preposition with the verb, then only one form is possible, e.g. "Look for Jim" is correct, you cannot say "Look Jim for". However "Look Jim up" is fine as 'up' is an adverb.

I've heard people use the phrase "check things up" in informal speech. It's not correct, but I think it's reasonably common. The phrase "check up things" sounds much more odd to me. There are probably native speakers who would say it this way, but most people would not. As Mr. Lance has explained, the correct form (which everyone will understand, and which most native speakers use) is to "check up on" or "check on" (someone/something).