Drop over versus Drop by

[Greta D.]

English Language Tests, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #156 "Idioms with the phrasal verb drop", question 10

Senior Constable Smith asked the suspect to ......... the police station at lunch time in order to answer some questions regarding his alleged involvement in a bank robbery.

(a) drop over
(b) drop off
(c) drop out
(d) drop by

English Language Tests, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #156 "Idioms with the phrasal verb drop", answer 10

Senior Constable Smith asked the suspect to drop by the police station at lunch time in order to answer some questions regarding his alleged involvement in a bank robbery.

Correct answer: (d) drop by

Your answer was: incorrect
Senior Constable Smith asked the suspect to drop over the police station at lunch time in order to answer some questions regarding his alleged involvement in a bank robbery.
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Hi,

This is what I found at the dictionary.com:

drop by

Also, drop in or over. Pay a brief, casual, and usually unannounced visit. For example, I asked her to drop by whenever she was in the neighborhood, or Joan loves to have friends drop in, or We'd love to drop over but we haven't time on this trip. The first term dates from the first half of the 1900s; drop in is from the mid-1600s and drop over from the late 1800s.

Does your choice mean that "drop over" is no longer in usage?

Thanks
Greta

[Yankee]

Hi Greta

Drop over is in current usage. The difference is that drop over (and also drop in) are not followed by "where". Normally it is understood that the casual visit will be at someone's home. If some other place is meant, "where" will already be clear from the conversation.

Unlike "drop in" and "drop over", drop by can be directly followed by "where". And that's why it is correct in the test sentence. "...drop by the police station..."
Drop by may or may not be directly followed by the location of where the visit will take place.

Amy
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English