Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher we answer a question from Tien in Vietnam.
Dear VOA, I am writing to ask a question about the difference between "drop in " and "drop by." Thanks in advance. Dear Tien, thank you for writing to us. Both of these expressions mean to pay someone or something an informal visit. You may say, you "dropped by" someone's house if you did not have an invitation but decided 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. Let us begin with "drop by." It is a two-part phrasal verb, which means it combines a verb and an adverb. The verb is "drop," which usually describes something falling in small amounts.