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  1. Jane's mother will come to pick her up soon.
  2. Jane's mother will come pick her up soon.

The kid Jane is being looked after at her grandparents' home. In a hour, her mother will arrive at the house to pick her up. What's the most appropriate way to express this?

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  • Depends on whether you're British or American.
    – gone fishin' again.
    Aug 15, 2018 at 15:08

2 Answers 2

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You can also replace to with and—or exclude come altogether:

Jane's mother will come to pick her up soon.
Jane's mother will come and pick her up soon.
Jane's mother will come pick her up soon.
Jane's mother will pick her up soon.

All variations are fine; I don't think anyone would question the use of any of them. It really comes down to what feels the most comfortable to you. In general, you use what you're most used to hearing.

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  • This answer needs to mention that you only find and/to omitted in American slang. If you’re speaking British English, or using American English in a non-slang manner (for example a formal document), the and/to is mandatory.
    – Chris Melville
    Mar 29, 2019 at 4:42
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To expand on the answer provided by Jason, the third one:

Jane's mother will come pick her up soon.

would not be acceptable in British English, but would be in American English. The other options would be fine in British English. As a native British English speaker:

Jane's mother will come and pick her up soon.

sounds the most natural.

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