go by vs take
Who taught: Phil
Shoes car (source : http://highclearing.com/)
During winter, I play soccer with Phil and other friends every Monday. Since Phil lives close to me, he usually picks me up on his way to the sports complex where we play soccer. Yesterday, he was gonna pick me up as usual but then I realized that my soccer shoes are in my new house. (FYI, I bought a house and now I am in the middle of moving things. So, some are in my new house and some are in my old house.) So, I had to go to the new house to get them. On my way to Phil’s house, I called him.
Me : “Phil, I should be at your place in 5 minutes. Do you want to go by my car?” (I meant we want to use my car to go to the complex instead of using his car.)
Phil : “Sure, either way is fine. Seeya.”
So, I picked him up. And he said, “Hey Terry. You said, ‘go by my car’ when you called. I could understand what you meant but ‘go by my car’ sounds weird to me. I would say ‘take my car’ instead.”
After the game, I looked ‘go by’ up in a dictionary again. It means ‘to elapse or pass’ or ‘to pay a short visit.’ Let me give you examples!
1. to elapse : As time goes by, you will feel better.
2. to pay a short visit : Phil was not at home when I went by his place yesterday.
So, using a verb ‘go’ followed by ‘by’ has something to do with flow or passage. It does not have the feeling of using something for the purpose of transportion. My initial thought when I used ‘go by’ was ‘go’ means moving from one place to another place and ‘by’ means ‘a mean for something.’ As separate words this could be right but when they are used combined, the meaning is not as I thought.
What an easy word, take, to use? And, I was not able to find it when I needed it. This happens all the time, especially when I speak. Sometimes, I realize something is wrong right after I say it. Then, it is too late to correct it. That makes me feel somewhat frustrated. But, I know I need to get over it by speaking more and more which means I will make a lot of mistakes. Isn’t it so true that people learn from mistakes as long as we try to do our best to correct them.
Don’t you make this type of mistakes? What’s your story?
My friends! There is another thing I want to share with you. Today is my 10th wedding anniversary. Hope Jessy remembers this time! 🙂 Last year, she forgot. We have a small plan. We will have a steak with wine at our very first house. And, most importantly, I will buy a charcoal grill today to grill the steak.
Hey Terry. Congratulations on your 10th wedding anniversary. Hope you have beautiful and happy days with Jessy, forever.
Thank you, bro! I am sure you have and will have a wonderful life with your wife and daughters.
Congratulations to you and Jessica! By the way, it might go over better if you make Steak for dinner instead of Stake.
OMG! What a stupid. I would fail an elementary school English exam. 🙂 Thanks! I just corrected it.
Many congratulation for your wedding anniversary !! 🙂
Thank you, Renu!
Happy Anniversary, Terry and Jessica!! I hope your next 10 years are even better!!!
Thank you, Kelly! We are planning to stay in our new house in the next 10 years. So, it will be great!
Congratulations Terry and Jessica! You guys are awesome. I hope Jessica remembers too! Beth doesn’t even know which day we were married on!
This year, she remembered. You should broadcast your anniversary as often as possible in front of Beth so that the day is stuck in her mind. 🙂 Next time we meet you guys, I will ask a question about your anniversary.
Congratulations Terry and Jessica! Did you grill a T-bone?
Thanks, Mark! Well, it was New-York Strip steak. I will grill T-bone when I invite you. 🙂
Congratulations indeed! Good thing Jessica is so good about being married to someone who has mixed up ‘go by’ and ‘take’!
Thank you, Jean! She is amazing!