"drop by" "drop in" "drop over"

Question

http://tinyurl.com/pezoxd
- His sister dropped by unexpectedly.
- They dropped in for a chat.
- Drop over sometime!
- We were in the neighborhood and thought we would drop in on you.

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Are "drop by," "drop over" and "drop in" interchangeable?

RandomGuy · Accepted Answer

They all mean the same thing and can usually be used interchangeably (though I've never heard drop over before), but in the last sentence, only drop in sounds natural to me.

… and thought we would drop by on you.
… and thought we would drop over on you.

HUBLOT · Answer

Thanks a lot, AG.

Mister Micawber · Answer

I'm a little confused, Gus. The OP's last sentence sounds OK, and I agree that 'drop over on' is wrong, but then you have used it to change the OP's. Was Hublot's post amended?

Anyway, 'drop over' and sometimes 'drop over to' is common enough where I come from: Let's drop over to Ed's house for a beer.

RandomGuy · Answer

Mister MicawberI'm a little confused, Gus. The OP's last sentence sounds OK, and I agree that 'drop over on' is wrong, but then you have used it to change the OP's.

I see the confusion. I could have been more clear. I meant to explain that the three phrases are usually interchangeable, with the exception of the last sentence, in which only drop in works (as originally written). I then illustrated how unnatural the sentence would sound with drop by and drop over, and concluded my post with the head-shake emoticon to express my disapproval of them.

Mister Micawber · Answer

Aha!  One more example I can use to defend why I never use emoticons instead of English.

"drop by" "drop in" "drop over"

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