call for

Question

1. I'll call for you at 7 o'clock.Q) Does "call for" in #1 mean "I" will go/walk to your house to go somewhere together? Is that expression used the same way as pick up?Or can it be used differently from pick up in a way that when picking someone up we use a car or motorbike?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

moon72961. I'll call for you at 7 o'clock.Q) Does "call for" in #1 mean "I" will go/walk to your house to go somewhere together?

I'll be at your place at 7 o'clock. Presumably this would be for the purpose of taking someone somewhere. It's irrelevant how "I" get to your place, whether I walk, run, skip, drive, or fly!

moon7296Is that expression used the same way as pick up?

Yes. The intended meaning is the same except that "pick up" involves a vehicle, but "call for" doesn't require it. See below.

moon7296can it be used differently from pick up in a way that when picking someone up we use a car or motorbike?

Actually, when you pick someone up (in the intended reading) it's more or less assumed that you have a vehicle in which you will transport the other person somewhere. "I'll come and get you" is another way of saying it. In the case of "call for", however, a vehicle is not, strictly speaking, necessary, though that is one way of calling for someone.

CJ

Moon7296 · Answer

This expression might be confusing to non-native speakers if it is used colloquially because it may sound like I'll call you at 7 o'clock or simply the listener doesn't understand the exact meaning of "call for."

Plus, is the expression "call for" used often just like "pick up?" (spoken, written)

CalifJim · Answer

moon7296This expression might be confusing to non-native speakers if it is used colloquially because it may sound like I'll call you at 7 o'clock

On the phone, yes. But the phone has nothing to do with it if it's "call for".

moon7296is the expression "call for" used often just like "pick up?"

Not in American English. In fact, it's not often that we hear it in the U.S. Here it's almost always "pick up".

If you use the Google Ngram Viewer, you'll see that until the late 1970s, "call for" was used more than "pick up" in both American and British English. After that, the use of "pick up" increased to surpass "call for" in American English so that today "call for" is used more than "pick up" in British English, and "pick up" is used more than "call for" in British English.

CJ

Moon7296 · Answer

Wow, "Google Ngram Viewer" is a real interesting and helpful website that gives us information about how many times a word was used on average.

call for

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions