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Our school bus has fixed bus stops. Kids board the bus at those stops. We are off on Saturday, but a few kids come to school to take extra classes. The bus stops change (usually; depends upon the stop and the number of kids boarding the bus at that stop.) for Saturday as few kids come to school . So a child was going to school on Saturday for the first time, and thus asked:

Will the bus pickup here tomorrow?

Will the bus stop here tomorrow?

Actually after the kids board the bus at that stop, it turns around and heads back to school (it is the last stop.) So I feel that "pickup" sounds better,because if the bus stops change, this being the last stop of the bus, the bus won't pickup kids at this stop, as the school is in the opposite direction and this stop is not on the way to school, thus, it is not stopping while driving to other stops or school's. Am I right in thinking so?

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In the first choice, something’s missing

Will the pickup here tomorrow?

Something’s missing here.

You can correct it to be either

(A) ✔️Yes: Will the bus pick up (people) here tomorrow? OR

(B)✔️Yes: Will the pickup be here tomorrow?

In the first one, notice that “pick up” is two words. This is acting as a phrasal verb.

Also: sentence (A) sounds far better with an object, like “people” or “us”. The verb to pick up is okay to use without an object, but it is more common for there to be an object.

In the second one (B), “pickup” is acting as a noun, so it’s just one word. This means

  • Will this be the location where the pickup occurs tomorrow?

Sidebar on Pronunciation

By the way, sentence (B) is pronounced with an emphasis on “here”.

  • Will the pickup be here tomorrow?
  • Will the pickup occur here tomorrow?

If you pronounce it with an emphasis on “be”, then it might sound like

  • Will the pickup truck be here tomorrow?
  • Will the pickup be here tomorrow?

The second alternative is a fine choice

This is a perfectly good sentence:

✔️Yes: Will the bus stop here tomorrow?

This is simple, and sounds good.

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  • Oh.... Sorry it is "Will the bus pickup here tomorrow"? Commented Aug 14, 2019 at 16:53
  • So what sounds more likely"stop here" or "pickup here"? Commented Aug 14, 2019 at 16:54
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    @It'saboutEnglish in this case, “pick up” is two words. It’s acting as a phrasal verb. Commented Aug 14, 2019 at 16:59
  • @It'saboutEnglish Either is fine. It is totally up to you. I’d probably say “stop here,” since “pick up” is more typically used with an object like “pick people up” or “pick us up” or “pick up people”. Commented Aug 14, 2019 at 16:59
  • Hi I had another question: > We were quite a ways back stuck in traffic yesterday. _____________________________________________ Actually it is about a few people who take the same bus each day and the bus travels the same route each day. Yesterday they got to their stop late because they were held up by traffic and today they got to their stop on time and thus said this, as at this time yesterday they were stuck in traffic. Does this sentence sound natural to you? Most of the people don't find it natural.… Commented Sep 5, 2019 at 19:37

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