How to Choose Between Pick Up, Catch Up, Keep Up and Give Up in English

Read this sentence slowly: “Emily, I’ll pick you up at six, catch you up on what you missed, and if the class moves fast, we’ll help you keep up.”

The word up appears three times, and each time it does a different job. Yet nobody who hears this sentence in real life stops to ask what up means. They look at the situation: a person and a time, a class that was missed, a class that moves fast. The situation explains the phrase.

That is the method in this guide. You will not memorize “up means this”, because it has no single meaning. You ask what is happening around the whole phrase, then choose from four: pick up, catch up, keep up and give up. The guide is written for learners at about B1, and you do not need to have heard the Paul and Emily episode behind it. Lines marked “from the episode” are lines the hosts say; the dialogue, the examples with no label and all the drills were written for this page.

What is happening around the phrase?

Run your situation through these questions. The first one that fits is usually your phrase.

What is happening	Use	The shape of the sentence
Someone is being collected, or you are collecting something from a place	pick up	pick me up, pick it up, pick up the folder
Someone gives you the information you missed	catch (someone) up on	Can you catch me up on the new rules?
You do the reading or the work you missed, by yourself	catch up on	I need to catch up on my messages.
Something keeps moving and you are trying to stay with it	keep up with	I’m trying to keep up with all the changes.
Someone really decides to stop	give up, give up on	I don’t want to give up on the class.

Pick up: a person, a time, a place

Paul gives the clue in the first minute of the episode: when he says “I’ll pick you up at six,” there’s a person and a time, and he’s coming to get her. If you tried to understand pick literally, Emily jokes, you might imagine being lifted off the floor. You are not. You are being collected.

The sentences you need are short, and they follow the same plan every time: who, when, where.

• Can you pick me up at about six thirty? (from the episode)
• I can pick you up near your apartment. (from the episode)
• Can you pick me up outside the station? (from the episode)

When the thing you collect is a pronoun (me, you, him, her, them), the pronoun goes in the middle: pick me up, pick her up, pick them up. Not pick up me. The listener will probably understand Can you pick up me after work?, but the natural version is Can you pick me up after work?

The phrase also works for things. In the workplace scene of the episode, the client folder is at reception and Emily asks: Could you pick it up before the meeting? So the same phrase covers a person at a station and a folder at a desk. Editorial note (not from the podcast): with a noun you can usually say pick up the folder or pick the folder up; with a pronoun you can only say pick it up.

Catch me up on, catch up on: who is doing the work?

This is the phrase that changes shape, so look at what stands between catch and up.

You say	What happens	Who does the work
Can you catch me up on the new schedule?	Someone tells you the important changes	The other person talks
I need to catch up on the notes.	You read or review what you missed	You read

The episode puts the two side by side. Paul imagines Emily thanking him for the summary but saying she still has last week’s notes to read: I need to catch up on the notes. The same pair appears in a work scene: Can you catch me up on the main decisions? when you want a colleague’s summary, and I need to catch up on my messages when you are about to open the laptop yourself.

The shape of the first one is catch someone up on something. The person goes between catch and up, so Can you catch up me on the new schedule? sounds wrong to Paul: understandable, but not the natural word order. The second shape has no person at all: catch up on plus the thing you missed.

Keep up with: staying with the pace

Keep up is about the moment you are in. The class is moving, the speaker is moving, the group is moving, and you are trying not to fall behind.

• I’m trying to keep up with the class. (from the episode)
• It’s hard to keep up with all the changes. (from the episode)
• She walks so fast that I can’t keep up. (from the episode)

The last example drops with because the listener already knows what you cannot keep up with. When you name the thing, the full chunk is keep up with plus that thing, and learners often lose the small word in the middle: I can’t keep with the class should be I can’t keep up with the class.

Now the pair that gets mixed up most. Imagine Emily is at the workshop and the instructor is running the demonstration much too fast. She says, I can’t catch up with the group. Paul does not call it wrong. It can sometimes work when you mean you are behind and trying to reach them. But in that exact moment the problem is the speed, so the clearer phrase is I can’t keep up with the group.

Paul’s way of putting the contrast is worth remembering, with the warning he gives himself: catch up often starts from behind, and keep up is about staying with the pace as things continue. It is a useful tendency in the uses practised here, not a dictionary rule for every possible sentence.

So the notes from last week, the messages and the worksheet are catch up on material, while the demonstration, the discussion and the presentation that are happening now are keep up with material.

Give up and give up on: when you really stop

Give up is stronger than “I’m behind” or “This is difficult”. If you give up, you stop trying or stop continuing. That makes it the phrase you should be most careful with, because many learners reach for it when they only mean the pace is too fast.

When you name the thing you are stopping, add on: I don’t want to give up on the class. We almost gave up on the plan. (both from the episode). The workplace scene shows a quieter use. Emily tells Paul: We gave up on that tool yesterday because it kept creating duplicate entries. The team gave up on one tool, and Paul adds that they did not give up on the client project. Giving up on something small and specific is perfectly normal.

The episode’s lesson hides in the middle of the workshop scene. Emily sighs and says I think I give up. Paul asks whether she really wants to stop the workshop or whether the pace is just difficult right now. Her real sentence turns out to be: I’m having trouble keeping up with the pace. Could you show that step again? She thought her problem was give up, but it was keep up, and naming the real problem is what made the conversation work.

What about telling someone else Don’t give up? Emily and Paul talk about the tone. It can be supportive, but it can also sound as if you are telling another person what decision to make. A gentler question is Do you want to keep going? or Would another explanation help?

Say what is wrong, not only that it is wrong

Phrasal verbs are short, so it is tempting to use one and stop. The episode shows three small upgrades where the extra words do real work.

Basic sentence	Upgrade
Tell me what I missed.	Can you catch me up on what I missed?
It’s too fast.	I’m having trouble keeping up with the pace.
I quit.	I almost gave up, but I asked for another explanation.

All three upgrades are from the episode, and so is Paul’s test for them: an upgrade should improve the message, not just make it longer. The second one deserves a second look. I’m having trouble keeping up does not blame the teacher and it does not say you are leaving. It tells the other person exactly where to help.

The same four phrases in three places

Here is the same set of sentences in three situations from the episode, so you can see that the phrase changes with the situation and the pattern stays.

Place	Pick up	Catch up	Keep up	Give up
Evening class	Can you pick me up at about six thirty?	Can you catch me up on what happened on Tuesday? and I need to catch up on that worksheet before we start.	I sometimes have trouble keeping up when the teacher moves quickly.	I don’t want to give up on the class just because I missed one session.
Board-game club	I can pick you up at ten tomorrow.	Can you catch me up on the new rules before we get there?	I sometimes struggle to keep up when everybody takes very quick turns.	I don’t want to give up on the game before I really understand it.
Workplace	Could you pick it up before the meeting?	Can you catch me up on those three first? and I also need to catch up on my messages.	I’m trying to keep up with all the changes.	We gave up on that tool yesterday because it kept creating duplicate entries.

What changes from row to row is the object: a worksheet, a set of rules, a folder. What does not change is the question underneath. What is being collected? What information was missed? What is moving quickly? What has someone actually stopped using or pursuing?

A rehearsal, written for this page

Ana missed the second half of a choir rehearsal. Ben is driving to the next one.

Ben: Hi Ana. I can pick you up at a quarter to seven.

Ana: Thanks, that helps a lot. Can you catch me up on what I missed on the way?

Ben: Sure. We started a new song, and the concert moved to the fourteenth.

Ana: The fourteenth? Then I need to catch up on the sheet music tonight.

Ben: Probably a good idea. The new song moves fast, and I can’t keep up with the middle part yet.

Ana: Do you want to give up on it?

Ben: No, I just need it slower. I’ll ask the choir leader to play that part again.

Read it once for the story, then again with the first table beside you. Ana is being collected, Ben summarizes for her, Ana has her own reading to do, Ben is behind the pace of a moving song, and Ana’s question about stopping is a real one, so Ben’s No matters.

Sort these situations

Choose the best phrase before you read the answers.

1. Your friend will drive to your house at eight and take you to the airport.
2. You missed the staff meeting and want a colleague to give you a short update.
3. You already have the summary, but thirty unread emails are waiting.
4. A speaker keeps changing slides before you finish reading them.
5. You have tried one plan for weeks and have decided to stop pursuing it.
6. The parcel is at the front desk and you are going downstairs to collect it.
7. A friend runs so fast that you cannot stay next to her.
8. Your team stopped using an old app because it caused too many mistakes.

Answers

1. My friend is going to pick me up at eight.
2. Can you catch me up on what I missed?
3. I need to catch up on my messages.
4. I’m having trouble keeping up with the presentation.
5. I’ve decided to give up on that plan.
6. I’m going to pick up the parcel. (or pick it up)
7. She runs so fast that I can’t keep up.
8. We gave up on the old app.

Mend the word order

Each sentence has a small slip. Write the repair.

1. Can you pick up me at seven?
2. Can you catch up me on the changes?
3. I can’t keep with the class.
4. I need to catch me up on my messages.
5. This is hard. I give up. (You only need the teacher to repeat a step.)

Answers

1. Can you pick me up at seven? The pronoun goes in the middle.
2. Can you catch me up on the changes? The person goes between catch and up.
3. I can’t keep up with the class. Keep the whole chunk, including up.
4. I need to catch up on my messages. When you do the reading yourself, there is no person between catch and up.
5. I’m having trouble keeping up. or Could you show that step again? The sentence names what is wrong instead of announcing that you quit.

Your own sixty seconds

Imagine you missed part of a class, a club or a project, and you are joining again. Speak for about a minute and use all four phrases. Give one reason, so the listener does not have to guess. Here is a model, written for this page, that you can beat:

I missed Monday’s team meeting, so a colleague is going to pick me up at the station and catch me up on the main decisions on the way. I also need to catch up on the notes tonight. The schedule changed twice, and I’m trying to keep up. I won’t give up on the project, because I just need one clear update.

Then say it again about a different place and check that the question underneath changes with it.

Doubts that come up

Can I say “catch up with the group”?

Yes, when you are behind and trying to reach them. If the problem is that the group is moving too fast right now, keep up with is clearer.

Do I always need “with” after “keep up”?

You need it when you name the thing: keep up with the class. You can leave it out when the thing is obvious, as in She walks so fast that I can’t keep up.

Does “pick up” always mean “collect”?

In this guide, yes: you collect a person at a station or a folder at reception. Editorial note (not from the podcast): the phrase also has other meanings in English, and the same situation method works for those, too.

The four jobs on one line each

• Pick up: collect a person or a thing. The pronoun goes in the middle: pick me up.
• Catch me up on: someone gives you the information you missed.
• Catch up on: you do the reading or the work you missed.
• Keep up with: stay with a pace, level or change that keeps moving.
• Give up, give up on: really stop, and name the thing after on.

Hear it in a real conversation

Want to hear Paul and Emily work through these four phrases in a photography workshop, a board-game club and a busy office, with a quiz and a final speaking practice? Listen to the episode and read the transcript in Pick Up, Catch Up, Keep Up and Give Up: Use 4 Common Phrasal Verbs in Context.