VOA慢速英语2021--Drop By and Drop In

 

Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher we answer a question from Tien in Vietnam¹.

Question:

Dear VOA, I am writing to ask a question about the difference between "drop in " and "drop by." Thanks in advance.

-Tien, Vietnam

Answer:

Dear Tien,

Thank you for writing to us. Both of these expressions mean to pay someone or something an informal² visit. You may say, you "dropped by" someone's house if you did not have an invitation but decided³ to visit them because you were in the neighborhood.

But there is a small difference between the expressions that may help you know when to use them.

Drop by

Let us begin with "drop by." It is a two-part phrasal verb⁴, which means⁵ 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:

I asked James to drop by the café tonight to hear our music.

In 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."

I 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:

Please drop by my other blog on photography⁶.

Drop by every Monday for a new Mainly about Boats column⁷.

Comparing drop by and drop in

Next, 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:

I was passing your street and thought I'd drop in – do you have time for tea?

If you did not plan to enter the house or building, you could use "drop by, as in:

I will drop by tomorrow and put the letter under your door.

The three-word phrasal verb form is "drop in on." You might hear it used this way:

Every now and then he would drop in on Grandmother for a quick chat.

You can tell from this final example that we use "drop in on" when we are talking about entering someone's home:

The middle of the night is a bad time to drop in on a friend, but we could see that Megan needed help.

I hope this helps you understand when to use these expressions, Tien. Maybe you can practice them next time you drop by an English class!

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Words in This Story

in advance – expression. before a future event or time

photography – n. the art, process, or job of taking pictures with a camera

column – n. an article in a newspaper or magazine that appears regularly⁸ and that is written by a particular writer or deals with a particular subject

chat – n. a light and friendly conversation

practice – v. to do something again and again to become better at it

1 Vietnam   

n.越南

参考例句：

• Vietnam is suffering from food shortage.越南正遭受食物短缺之苦。
• Laos is on the west of Vietnam.老挝在越南西面。

2 informal   

adj.非正式的，不拘礼的，通俗的

参考例句：

• I got an informal reception.我受到了非正式接待。
• The leaders met over informal lunches.领袖们在非正式午餐时进行会晤。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 verb   

n.[语]动词

参考例句：

• The sentence is formed from a verb and two nouns.这句子由一个动词和两个名词构成。
• These are the finite forms of a verb.这些是一个动词的限定形式。

5 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

6 photography   

n.摄影，摄影术

参考例句：

• He goes in for photography.他酷爱摄影。
• Photography is not taught in our school.我们学校不教摄影术。

7 column   

n.列，柱形图；专栏；圆柱；纵队

参考例句：

• I often read his column in the local paper.我经常在当地的报纸上看到他的专栏文章。
• A column of soldiers marched down the highway.一个士兵纵队沿着公路行进。

8 regularly   

adv.有规则地，一丝不苟地，正式地

参考例句：

• Check the engine oil level regularly.要时常检查机油量。
• We meet regularly to discuss business.我们定期会面讨论事务。