ENGLISH
REFERENCE

pick sb/sth up

phr. v..
A2 Elementary Oxford

phr. v.. To go somewhere to get a person or thing, or to lift something from a surface.

phr. v.. A separable phrasal verb with two primary meanings: 1) to collect a person or thing from a location, and 2) to lift an object from a lower position.


SIMPLE

Can you pick me up after work?

CONTEXTUAL

She bent down to pick up the keys she had dropped on the floor.

COMPLEX

The satellite is scheduled to pick up faint signals from the distant galaxy as it passes through the designated orbital path.

Particles
up
Separability
separable
Pattern
pick + up + object
Usage

This phrasal verb is separable, so you can say 'pick the kids up' or 'pick up the kids'.

Teaching tip

Emphasize that when the object is a pronoun (it, them, me), it must go between 'pick' and 'up', as in 'pick it up'.

Pitfall

I need to pick up them from school.I need to pick them up from school.A pronoun object like 'them' must be placed between the verb 'pick' and the particle 'up'.

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