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I have another phrasal verb for you today but, don’t worry, it doesn’t have as many meanings as “pick up”. Today’s expression is “come around”, and it only has three meanings.

1. for someone to change their thinking and start to support someone. For example:

At first, my mother wouldn’t support my decision to start my own company, but eventually she came around.

A: Dad really hates my fiancee! He says he won’t come to our wedding.

B: Don’t worry! Your father can be stubborn sometimes, but he’ll come around.

2. for someone to gain consciousness again. For example:

My sister fainted, but she came around after we sprinkled water on her face.

Oscar fainted! Everybody please stand back! He’s coming around now!

3. to visit someone’s home. For example:

We really enjoy talking to you, so please come around whenever you have time.

Mom, my friend Rob might come around this weekend. Is that ok with you?

So all of these examples are intransitive which means that there is no object in the sentence.

Today is the final entry for the phrasal verb “pick up”. All the definitions today are intransitive which means there is no object in the sentence. So here are the final three meanings:

13. for some form of entertainment to become more interesting or exciting. For example:

The action movie was quite slow at the beginning, but it really picked up in the middle.

The song is very slow at first, but the tempo picks up a lot after the first verse.

14. for business to improve after going down. For example:

Business really picked up after the summer because people were no longer on summer vacation.

Sales were down for the first three months of this year, but they’re starting to pick up now.

15. for someone to leave suddenly (used with “and left”). For example:

A: Where’s Ralph?

B: I don’t know. He was here, but then he just picked up and left. I don’t know where he went.

As I mentioned in part one of this series, the phrasal verb “pick up” has the most number of meanings. Many phrasal verbs have more than one meaning, but “pick up” is an unusual case. Most other phrasal verbs with many meanings usually only have about five or six definitions maximum. However, because these expressions have more than one meaning, it’s important to study the full sentences so you can understand how to use them, and in what situations they can be used.

This is the second entry for the phrasal verb “pick up”. All of the definitions today will be separable, but tomorrow I will conclude with more definitions of “pick up” with intransitive ones. So, let’s get started with part two. I have six more meanings of “pick up” today.

7. to pay a restaurant bill for someone else (usually used with “the tab” or “the check”). For example:

Don’t worry about getting any extra money for tonight. I’m going to pick up the tab.

The check will be picked up by the boss tonight. (passive voice)

8. to learn something through experience. For example:

When I was traveling through France, I picked up a little French.

I don’t know how to use this machine, but I’m sure I can pick it up quickly.

9. to talk to someone in the hopes of a sexual relationship. For example:

A strange guy tried to pick me up in the bar last night. I told him I wasn’t interested.

My friend got picked up by a really handsome guy in the bar last night. (passive voice)

10. for the police to arrest someone. For example:

The police finally picked up the guy who stole my money. I hope he goes to prison for a long time.

The guy who stole my money was finally picked up by the police. (passive voice)

11. for something to give someone more energy. For example:

If I’m tired, I have a cup of coffee. It really picks me up.

12. to receive a radio or television signal. For example:

My radio is really good. It can pick up signals from over 300 kilometres away.

Signals from over 300 kilometres away can be picked up by my radio. (passive voice)

As I mentioned before, tomorrow will be the third and last entry for “pick up” in which I’ll go over three more definitions which are intransitive. As a reminder, intransitive means that the verb of the sentence does NOT take an object.

Many phrasal verbs in the English language have more than one meaning. However, the expression “pick up” has the most number of meanings. I want to spend the next three blog entries going over all of the various meanings. So today I will go over six meanings of this phrasal verb.

1. for someone to put something in their hand and lift it (usually from the ground). For example:

I saw a fifty dollar bill on the ground this morning, so I picked it up and put it in my pocket.

2. to go somewhere and get something from a store (which has often been paid for already). For example:

I picked up your shirts at the dry cleaners earlier. I put them on your bed.

3. to get someone in a car. For example:

Can you pick me up at the station at 9:00 tonight?

I was picked up at the station by my father. (passive voice)

4. to continue a discussion after a break. For example:

It’s time to eat now, so let’s pick this up again after lunch.

5. to buy something. For example:

I picked up a really nice set of golf clubs on sale at the shopping mall.

6. to get an illness like a cold or the flu. For example:

My husband picked up a cold while we were on vacation.

A cold was picked up by several people travelling on the same bus. (passive voice)

Tomorrow I will continue with another six meanings of this expression.