pick up
SeparableThe object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: pick UP. Saying “PICK up” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
Link across the gap. The final /k/ of “pick” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “pick up” is said “pi-ckup”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.
Verb vs noun
As a noun the stress flips to the front: the verb is pick UP, the noun is PICKUP. Same two words, different beat — “to pick UP” is the action, “a pickup” is the thing. Getting this backwards makes the sentence land oddly even when every sound is right.
5 meanings
- 1
To collect someone or something from a place.
- “Can you pick up some groceries on your way home?”
- “I'll pick you up at seven.”
Similar: collect, fetch
- 2
To lift something from a surface.
- “Pick your bag up off the floor.”
Similar: lift
- 3
To learn something casually, without formal study.
- “He picked up Spanish just by living there.”
- “You'll pick it up as you go.”
Similar: acquire, learn
- 4
To improve or increase.
- “Business picked up in the second half of the year.”
Similar: improve, recover
- 5
To answer a telephone.
- “It rang eight times before she picked up.”
Similar: answer