Drop By and Drop In
2021-10-02
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1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher we answer a question from Tien in Vietnam.
2Dear VOA, I am writing to ask a question about the difference between "drop in " and "drop by."
3Thanks in advance.
4Dear Tien,
5Thank you for writing to us.
6Both of these expressions mean to pay someone or something an informal visit.
7You may say, you "dropped by" someone's house if you did not have an invitation but decided to visit them because you were in the neighborhood.
8But there is a small difference between the expressions that may help you know when to use them.
9Let us begin with "drop by."
10It is a two-part phrasal verb, which means it combines a verb and an adverb.
11The verb is "drop," which usually describes something falling in small amounts.
12The adverb is "by" which means "near."
13Here is an example of how to use it:
14I asked James to drop by the café tonight to hear our music.
15In this example, when you go to a café, you do not need an invitation.
16You can enter for a short time or even stay outside of the building and still say you "dropped by."
17I found that people are using "drop by" to talk about the places they visit on a computer, as well as in person. Here are some examples:
18Please drop by my other blog on photography.
19Drop by every Monday for a new Mainly about Boats column.
20Next, we can look at "drop in."
21This expression can be a two or three-word phrasal verb.
22The two-word form, "drop in," can be used like "drop by" with one difference - if you go to a place and plan to enter it, you would say:
23I was passing your street and thought I'd drop in - do you have time for tea?
24If you did not plan to enter the house or building, you could use "drop by, as in:
25I will drop by tomorrow and put the letter under your door.
26The three-word phrasal verb form is "drop in on."
27You might hear it used this way:
28Every now and then he would drop in on Grandmother for a quick chat.
29You can tell from this final example that we use "drop in on" when we are talking about entering someone's home:
30The middle of the night is a bad time to drop in on a friend, but we could see that Megan needed help.
31I hope this helps you understand when to use these expressions, Tien.
32Maybe you can practice them next time you drop by an English class!
33What question do you have about American English?
34Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
35And that's Ask a Teacher.
36I'm Jill Robbins.
1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher we answer a question from Tien in Vietnam. 2Question: 3Dear VOA, I am writing to ask a question about the difference between "drop in " and "drop by." Thanks in advance. 4-Tien, Vietnam 5Answer: 6Dear Tien, 7Thank you for writing to us. Both of these expressions mean to pay someone or something an informal visit. You may say, you "dropped by" someone's house if you did not have an invitation but decided to visit them because you were in the neighborhood. 8But there is a small difference between the expressions that may help you know when to use them. 9Drop by 10Let us begin with "drop by." It is a two-part phrasal verb, which means it combines a verb and an adverb. The verb is "drop," which usually describes something falling in small amounts. The adverb is "by" which means "near." Here is an example of how to use it: 11I asked James to drop by the café tonight to hear our music. 12In this example, when you go to a café, you do not need an invitation. You can enter for a short time or even stay outside of the building and still say you "dropped by." 13I found that people are using "drop by" to talk about the places they visit on a computer, as well as in person. Here are some examples: 14Please drop by my other blog on photography. 15Drop by every Monday for a new Mainly about Boats column. 16Comparing drop by and drop in 17Next, we can look at "drop in." This expression can be a two or three-word phrasal verb. The two-word form, "drop in," can be used like "drop by" with one difference - if you go to a place and plan to enter it, you would say: 18I was passing your street and thought I'd drop in - do you have time for tea? 19If you did not plan to enter the house or building, you could use "drop by, as in: 20I will drop by tomorrow and put the letter under your door. 21The three-word phrasal verb form is "drop in on." You might hear it used this way: 22Every now and then he would drop in on Grandmother for a quick chat. 23You can tell from this final example that we use "drop in on" when we are talking about entering someone's home: 24The middle of the night is a bad time to drop in on a friend, but we could see that Megan needed help. 25I hope this helps you understand when to use these expressions, Tien. Maybe you can practice them next time you drop by an English class! 26What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com 27And that's Ask a Teacher. 28I'm Jill Robbins. 29Dr. Jill Robbins wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 30To learn more about phrasal verbs, see our Everyday Grammar series. 31_______________________________________________________________ 32Words in This Story 33in advance - expression. before a future event or time 34photography - n. the art, process, or job of taking pictures with a camera 35column - n. an article in a newspaper or magazine that appears regularly and that is written by a particular writer or deals with a particular subject 36chat - n. a light and friendly conversation 37practice - v. to do something again and again to become better at it 38Do you have a question for the teacher? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.