An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'pick out' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context
Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them.
My post today is all about 'pick out', which is a moderately common English phrasal verb that I'm sure many of you will have heard being used before. In this post, I will explain 5 different ways that you can use this, with lots and lots of examples to help to make it make sense! So, without further ado, let's get started....
Please like and share the post if you find the article useful (I won't know otherwise)! Also, feel free to leave a comment at the end with your own sentence featuring 'get into' 😊
PICK OUT: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Medium |
Number of meanings | 5 |
Past tense forms | Picked out / Picked out |
Separable? | Yes |
MEANINGS (Click to jump to each one)
THE BASICS
'Pick out' is formed by combining the verb 'to pick' with the prepositional particle 'out' and so to help us with our exploration of this phrasal verb, let's first take a moment to consider the meaning of each word individually.
The verb 'to pick' is a diverse regular English verb with a couple of distinct meanings, both of which will feature later in this post. Perhaps it's most common meaning is as a synonym of 'to choose' and is used specifically when there is a group or selection of different options to choose from. The other main meaning that it has as a verb is 'to remove something, typically with your fingers' and is often heard being used with nouns like flowers and fruit.
I was always the last one to be picked for the football team at school.
Which university did your son pick in the end?
There are so many choices, I don't know which one to pick!
John picked some flowers to give to his girlfriend.
In September, we go and pick fruit to sell at the market.
Next, we have the prepositional particle 'out', which, when used as an adverb, is related to being on the external side of something or indicating movement from the inside of somewhere to the outside. When used in phrasal verbs, 'out' can add ideas such as a movement towards an external place or space (go out), emergence (come out), completion (work out) and experimentation (try out), among others.
So, now that we have covered the basics, let's take a look at the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'pick out'....
MEANING 1: To remove something
CEFR Language Level | A2 - Elementary |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To take out, to remove, to extract |
Separable? | Yes |
The first meaning of 'pick out' that we will cover in this post is a nice and easy one as it is the literal meaning that we get when we combine the individual meanings of 'pick' and 'out' and that is 'to remove something from an internal space with your fingers or hands'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
|
A frequent scenario where you might encounter this application is with food and eating. This often occurs when there's something in your dish that you dislike, causing you to remove it (pick it out) and set it aside on your plate or pass it to someone else (particularly when it's a green vegetable on a burger at a well-known fast food chain - I think you know what I mean!).
Another time that this usage may arise is if some food gets stuck between your teeth and is visible to others. You may then want to pick the offending food out, ensuring that your smile stays as nice and attractive as ever.
Besides food, this application of 'pick out' may be used to describe any time that you use your fingers to remove something from an internal space, whether that be a hole, a bag, a pocket etc.
You may be wondering what the difference is with 'take out' and although the two can often serve as synonyms of one another, you should note that 'pick out' tends to be used when more precision or care is required to remove the object, often when the interior space is smaller, which is why the emphasis is on the fingers.
Laura carefully picked out the seeds from the watermelon.
The surgeon had to pick out the shards of glass from the wound.
I need to pick out the lint from this sweater before I put it on.
The dentist carefully picked out the food stuck between the patient's teeth.
Emily used tweezers to pick out the splinter from her finger.
Roger bent down to pick out the debris from the fish tank.
The chef picked out the burnt pieces from the dish before serving it to the customer.
MEANING 2: To select somebody or something
CEFR Language Level | B1 - Intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To pick, to select, to choose, to decide on, to single out, to opt for |
Separable? | Yes |
Our second meaning of 'pick out' is the most commonly used of all of its applications and means 'to select somebody or something from a group'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
|
For this meaning, we are going back to the other meaning of 'to pick', which is to select or choose. We are then combining this with the idea of picking one person or thing out of a number of options.
When this application is used, it is typically when the speaker is presented with a selection of different items and must choose one or several of these to use or to give special attention. For example, a bride-to-be may go to a wedding dress shop to pick out a wedding dress from a selection in her size or a magician may ask you to pick out a card from a selection that they offer to you in their hand.
Most of the time, 'pick out' and 'pick' can be used interchangeably, however I think that 'pick out' tends to be used more when the chosen item is meant to be treated in a special or unique way. For example, you may pick out a pair of glasses at the opticians because they are your favourite and are different to the others. 'Pick' could also be used here, but I think that 'pick out' adds more emphasis to the uniqueness and separateness of the glasses.
Conversely, if you now think about a football team captain choosing players to be on his or her team in school, we would normally use 'pick' here to describe the action of choosing the players for the team as they will all be equals. 'Pick out' would sound a bit strange to my ears as it could mean that the person 'picked out' was distinct or special in some way, setting them apart from the rest of the team.
You should note that this is just a feeling rather than a rule.
Helen picked out a beautiful dress from the rack for the party.
The teacher asked his students to pick out their favourite books from the library.
Can you help me pick out a gift for her birthday?
They picked out the best strawberries from the basket for dessert.
I picked out a few interesting articles from the magazine to read later.
She picked out a unique name from the list for her baby.
From all the applicants, the hiring manager picked out the most qualified candidate.
MEANING 3: To recognise
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To recognise, to distinguish, to make out, to discern, to perceive |
Separable? | Yes |
On to our third meaning of 'pick out' now, which is quite simply to recognise somebody or something from a group or selection.
Nouns commonly used with this application.... Person Face Voice |
As you will note, we are back on the same theme of choosing here, but this time, instead of choosing something from a number of options for a particular purpose, we are choosing something or someone that we recognise from a group.
This application can be used for detecting and recognising a person or a thing with any of our five senses. For example, if you look at a class photograph from a school, you may be able to pick out some people's faces who you know amongst the group of people. Likewise, if you listen to a group of people laughing, you may be able to pick out one person that you know's individual laugh from all of the other people laughing at the same time and any wine lovers among you may be able to pick out notes of certain fruits in your favourite wines.
When I looked at the crowded photograph, I could easily pick out my brother because of his bright orange jacket.
It took a while, but John finally managed to pick out his wife's voice among the noisy crowd.
Detective Novak was able to pick out the suspect’s face from the surveillance footage.
Despite the dim light, I was able to pick out the outline of the house in the distance.
Tom has an incredible ability to pick out subtle differences between similar wines.
While listening to the orchestra, Debbie could easily pick out the sound of the violins.
With his keen sense of smell, Jonas was able to pick out the scent of lavender in the blend.
MEANING 4: To make something obvious
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Rare |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To stand out, to highlight, to set apart |
Separable? | Yes |
Let's move on to our fourth meaning of 'pick out' now, which is a very logical next step as it means 'to make something obvious'.
To clarify, with this meaning, I am not talking about an action that is obvious for people to see but rather changing the appearance of something. This is either to make it easier to see with your eyes by distinguishing it from its surroundings or for decorative purposes to make it look prettier or nicer. In both cases, the main purpose of this meaning is to draw people's attention to something and make them notice it.
Grammatically speaking, this application can be used in an active sense but most of the time it tends to be used in the passive form of 'to be picked out in....".
Normally, this is followed by a colour, a texture or a decoration of some sort.
The lighting in the gallery was designed to pick out the intricate carvings on the sculpture.
Emily wore a belt to pick out her waistline and give the dress more shape.
Simon's intricate design was picked out in gold thread, giving the fabric a luxurious look.
The names of the competition winners were picked out in bold letters on the announcement board.
Inside the church, the stained-glass window was beautifully picked out in shades of blue and green.
Kath's initials were picked out in silver embroidery on her handkerchief.
The edges of the painting were picked out in a darker colour to create depth.
The lettering on the monument was picked out in white paint to make it easier for people to read.
The floral pattern was picked out in vibrant colours, in order to make it stand out against the plain background.
MEANING 5: To play music with difficulty
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Rare |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To play |
Separable? | Yes |
Let's start this final application with a question; can you play a musical instrument?
I learned the piano when I was a child and I can just about remember some very basic tunes now but sadly nothing more. The reason that I ask is because this final meaning is all about musical instruments and means 'to play music with difficulty'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
|
Typically, there are several situations in which this application of 'pick out' is used, which I have listed below for you....
When you play a song slowly as you are not very used to playing it
When you play a song that is too difficult for you, especially if you have recently started learning
When you play a song by ear or from memory and do not have sheet music to help you
As you can see from all of the example situations above, we use this application when someone is uncertain about playing a song on an instrument and there is an element of difficulty involved for the musician. It isn't just deftly playing a song with ease in the style of Chopin, Beethoven or Fats Domino.
Sammy sat at the piano and began to pick out the melody of his favourite song.
The child prodigy managed to pick out a simple tune on the xylophone.
Sally picked out a few chords on the guitar while humming softly.
With some effort, Adam picked out the opening notes of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" on the keyboard.
Harry picked out a lively tune on the banjo, much to everyone at the party's delight.
As the band warmed up, the pianist picked out a few notes to test the keys.
She picked out the melody by ear, even though she’d never seen the sheet music before.
Tony picked out a haunting tune on the violin and the sound echoed through the empty room.
The beginner picked out the scale on the piano, hesitating over a few notes.
We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'pick out'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts.
Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'pick out'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!!
Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published.
Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊
THE END
Comments