Pick up someone vs Pick someone up?

Question

When referring to toddles/infants, we say:

Example 1) Pick up the baby.

But when my friend asks me a favor, they would say:

Example 2) Can you pick John up from the bus stop?

or...

Example 3) Can you pick up John from the bus stop?

I always thought that example 1 is correct because it involves an actual act of picking up someone and carrying it. But between examples 2 and 3, example 2 is correct and example 3 is incorrect. Why, because you do not actually carry John around. However, I have noticed many people using Example 3 as the correct way to describe the action.

Between examples 2 and 3, which is the correct way?

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Duplicate Alert?

• “Pick up something” or “pick something up”?

This question appears to be duplicate but that question is more related to the actual action of lifting an object and carrying it. And hence, I think my question is not truly a duplicate. Please correct me if it is duplicate.

Answer 1

Either 2 or 3 is correct.

In the phrasal verb pick up, the object can come before or after the preposition. Oxford Learner's Dictionary provides this notation for the relevant meanings of pick up:

pick somebody <-> up

pick somebody/something <-> up

The <-> means that the word before and after can appear in reverse order. Technically, in example 1 I can either "pick the baby up" or "pick up the baby." Similarly, if I want someone to drive to the bus stop to bring John home, I can put John before or after the preposition:

Can you pick up John ...

Can you pick John up ...

The related question you link to merely adds an additional restriction: a pronominal object immediately follows pick. John is not a pronoun.