"drop by" and "came by"

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi All,

What is the difference between “Drop By” and “Came By”. Can we also use dropped by and come by?

Rgds,
Nene.

2

Your tenses are opposite.
Dropped by and came by, drop by and come by.

“Drop” has more of a sense of being unplanned or of a shorter duration.

3

SO, can we use dropped by as a past tense of drop by?

also, can we also use come by?

I would be grateful if you can give me some examples on how to use all these.

4

It looked like it was going to be a boring evening, but then Don and Marcia dropped by and we were up till 11 with them, laughing, drinking, and telling stories.
Why don’t you drop by around 1 tomorrow - you can pick up that book you said you want to borrow.

You can substitute in “came by” for “dropped by” in the first one and “come by” for “drop by” in the second one with little difference in meaning, except that “dropped by” does make it sound more unexpected.

5

Thanks barb,

Could you also tell me about “stop by”?

6

And “pop in”. :wink:

I agree with Barb on “drop in” versus" come by".

He dropped in yesterday, but ended up staying for hours.
?He came by yesterday, but ended up staying for hours.