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Pructus Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Pick up the flowers

Hello...

pick the flowers means to cut out the flowers.

How about "pick up"?
Can we use "pick up" instead of "pick"?
For example, "Don't pick up the flowers in this garden."
  

Top answer

" Only if some particular flowers have already been picked or cut and have been left lying somewhere, like on a path.

— Anonymous

  • " Only if some particular flowers have already been picked or cut and have been left lying somewhere, like on a path.
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12 Answers
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pructusHow about "pick up"?Can we use "pick up" instead of "pick"?For example, "Don't pick up the flowers in this garden."
Only if some particular flowers have already been picked or cut and have been left lying somewhere, like on a path.
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pructusCan we use "pick up" instead of "pick"?
No. If the (already cut) flowers have dropped on the floor, you can pick up the flowers (or pick the flowers up), but when you sever their stems to collect them, you only "pick" them.
pructusDon't pick up the flowers in this garden.
Not possible for the intended meaning.
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pructusCan we use "pick up" instead of "pick"?
Not if you mean remove them from the stem.

Edit: cross-posted with CalifJim.
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Oh, this is a major discovery, CJ....
Thanks so much!!
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Thanks a lot, teechr!!
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I see....
Thanks Anonymous!!
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pructusa major discovery
WOW! Emotion: smile

CJ
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After some thought...

There are, "eat up", "speak up", "look up", etc.
Then, if "pick the flower" is used to mean "remove the flower from the stem", "pick up the flower" cannot be used to mean "pick the flower"? If the "up" is stressed in "pick up"?

Even if "eat up" is used to mean "eat all", still "pick up" cannot be used to mean "pick all"?
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pructusEven if "eat up" is used to mean "eat all", still "pick up" cannot be used to mean "pick all"?
Correct. The function of "up" is different depending on the verb that precedes it. After "eat", "up" gives the sense of "all" or "completely", but after "pick", "up" is literally a motion upward. Things that fall down move down. Things that are pick
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Oh....
So, there's some difference between "eat" and "pick", because there is no "directional meaning" in "eat", whereas there is in "pick"? And this is why "pick up" cannot be used to mean "remove from the stem"?

Have I correctly understood?
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