Can "drop sb off" mean "give sb a lift"?

[mrwroc]

I have thought I can use "drop sb off" when I am IN a car and want to get out somewhere, for example:
She dropped him off at the train station. (So she was with him in a car.)

But then I have found that sentence:
Can you drop the kids off at school this morning? (So children aren't in a car yet.)

Does it mean:
Can you give the kids a lift to school this morning?


Here: https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/do-you-need-a-drop-off-at-home.3199931/ they write:

Sun, our US friends who answered you above didn't object to it. I have already said it doesn't right to me, but I'm English. I would be surprised if a receptionist asked me if I needed a drop-off at home. I would expect him/her to ask me if I needed a lift/ride home or if I would wait there for the car to be fixed.

So it can mean "give sb a lift" but only in AE????

 

[Skrej]

It's fine in AmE, but it doesn't 'give a lift'. The meaning hasn't changed, The kids might not be in the car just yet, but they would be once they leave the house. It's simply asking the other person if they can do it instead of the speaker.


Edit: Now that I think about it, I guess we do also use it as a way of asking for a ride, as well. It still has the idea though that both of you will already be in the car.

Can you drop me off at school?

 

[mrwroc]

Now, I am not sure. Your second thought suggests that it can mean "give sb a lift"?

I would be apreciated if someone could explain me the difference between:
Can you drop the kids off at school this morning?
and
Can you give the kids a lift to school this morning?

 

[emsr2d2]

Now no comma here I am not sure if your second thought suggests that it can mean "give [STRIKE]sb[/STRIKE] somebody a lift".

I would [STRIKE]be[/STRIKE] appreciate [STRIKE]d[/STRIKE] it if someone could explain [strike]me[/strike] the difference between:
Can you drop the kids off at school this morning?
and
Can you give the kids a lift to school this morning?

Absent any other context, they effectively mean the same. We don't know if the person is already planning to take a trip by car and is now being asked to add dropping the kids off to the journey, or if they weren't planning to go anywhere by car at all. If they're being asked to do the school run as an addition to the journey they had already planned, I might expect to hear "Can you drop the kids [off] at school on your way to work?"

Please don't use "sb" on the forum unless you are directly quoting a dictionary entry. In dictionaries, it's done to save space. There's no need for that here.

 

[Tdol]

I wouldn't ask someone if they could drop me off somewhere if I didn't know they would be prepared to take me.

 

[Rover_KE]

Please don't use "sb" on the forum unless you are directly quoting a dictionary entry. In dictionaries, it's done to save space. There's no need for that here.

(Repeating for emphasis in case somebody missed it.)

 

[Skrej]

I wouldn't ask someone if they could drop me off somewhere if I didn't know they would be prepared to take me.

I agree. I typically use this expression when I leave my car at my mechanic's garage for service. If I know it's going to take a while to complete the service, then I'll ask them to drop me off back at my office or wherever. Since this is a common service, I already know the answer is 'yes'.

 

[SoothingDave]

I wouldn't ask someone if they could drop me off somewhere if I didn't know they would be prepared to take me.

Yes, but when a couple is talking about their own kids, it seems fine.

 

[mrwroc]

Could you give me an examples when I can use:
1. only "drop somebody off" but not "give somebody a lift",
2. only "give somebody a lift" but not "drop somebody off",
3. "drop somebody off" and "give somebody a lift", it doesn't matter which?

Please

 

[emsr2d2]

1. (To a bus driver) I know there's no official stop outside McDonalds, but could you drop me off there?
2. We're both going to Sam's party tomorrow night. Can you give me a lift?
3. Can you give me a lift to school/Can you drop me off at school on your way to work?

 

[Tdol]

Do you bus drivers do #1- I haven't lived in the UK for many years and wouldn't ask this.

 

[emsr2d2]

Do you bus drivers do #1- I haven't lived in the UK for many years and wouldn't ask this.

Not a chance! I just needed an example of when "drop off" was OK and "give a lift" wasn't. ;-)

 

[Tarheel]

You mean the bus driver won't make a special stop just for you?
;-)

 

[Rover_KE]

It would be more than his/her job's worth.

 

[Tdol]

jobsworth

 

[Tarheel]

jobsworth

A similar expression is, I think, "That's above my pay grade."