{"id":6172,"date":"2022-08-29T06:00:31","date_gmt":"2022-08-29T11:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=6172"},"modified":"2022-08-19T10:53:21","modified_gmt":"2022-08-19T15:53:21","slug":"pick-up-or-pickup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/spelling\/pick-up-or-pickup\/","title":{"rendered":"Pick Up<\/em> or Pickup<\/em>: Which Word Do You Need to Use?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let’s say you agree to give your friends a ride in your truck. On the way, they ask if you can help them move an appliance since your truck has an open cargo area with low sides and a tailgate. Do you know which word to use to describe what you’ll be doing and what you’ll be driving?<\/p>\n

Some of the most confusing words and phrases in English come from misunderstandings over subtle differences. For example, some people might not realize that pickup<\/em> and pick up<\/em> mean different things.<\/p>\n

In today’s post, we will explain the distinction between the terms so you can always choose the correct one.<\/p>\n

The Difference Between Pick Up<\/em> and Pickup<\/em><\/h2>\n

Pick up<\/em> (two separate words) is what we call a phrasal verb, or a verb with a particle<\/a>. It can mean \u201cto retrieve something or someone,\u201d as in the following example:<\/p>\n

I’ve offered to pick up<\/u> my best friend from the airport.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The same phrasal verb can be used to describe something that is detected or observed. For example:<\/p>\n

Did you pick up<\/u> the tension between James and his brother?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In either case, the phrase pick up<\/em> is being used to communicate an action, either retrieving or detecting. That’s what makes the two-word version a verb.<\/p>\n

When used as a single word, pickup<\/em> can be either a noun or an adjective.<\/p>\n

As a noun, it describes a type of truck (the one with an open cargo area with low sides and a tailgate, which is good for moving things). As an adjective, pickup<\/em> can describe something impromptu or based on whatever is available. For instance, you might join a last-minute pickup basketball game<\/em> at the park.<\/p>\n

That leaves us with an easy rule to follow: When you need a noun or adjective, stick with the single-word pickup<\/em>. When you’re describing an action, use the two-word pick up<\/em> as a verb.<\/p>\n

With that distinction in mind, you’ll find that applying the correct version is easy.<\/p>\n

Pop Quiz<\/h2>\n

Fill in each blank with the correct use of pick up<\/em> or pickup<\/em>.<\/p>\n

1. My cousin bought a new _____ truck with his yearly bonus.<\/p>\n

2. It’s easy to make friends if you can _____ social cues.<\/p>\n

3. Sheila missed the softball league signup, but luckily she can always find a _____ game in her neighborhood.<\/p>\n

4. I need to _____ the decorations for the party later today.<\/p>\n

5. Veronica didn’t _____ many useful ideas from her weekend seminar.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz Answers<\/h3>\n

1. My cousin bought a new pickup<\/strong> truck with his yearly bonus.<\/p>\n

2. It’s easy to make friends if you can pick up<\/strong> social cues.<\/p>\n

3. Sheila missed the softball league signup, but luckily she can always find a pickup<\/strong> game in her neighborhood.<\/p>\n

4. I need to pick up<\/strong> the decorations for the party later today.<\/p>\n

5. Veronica didn’t pick up<\/strong> many useful ideas from her weekend seminar.<\/p>\n

Enhancing Your Grammar Is Always a Worthy Goal<\/h2>\n

Becoming a better writer and communicator is a matter of achieving precision and eloquence through knowledge and practice. You now have more knowledge from this post, so the next step is to practice it!<\/p>\n

If you’re inspired, you can also review our many other posts in our archive. We also welcome your questions or thoughts about this post in the comments section below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let’s say you agree to give your friends a ride in your truck. On the way, they ask if you can help them move an appliance since your truck has an open cargo area with low sides and a tailgate. Do you know which word to use to describe what you’ll be doing and what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spelling"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6172"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6172"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6174,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6172\/revisions\/6174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}