come
A1Neutral (used in all registers from highly formal to highly informal)
Definition
Meaning
To move towards or arrive at a place where the speaker or listener is.
To happen, occur, or reach a particular state or condition; to be available or originate from.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
"Come" implies a deictic centre (i.e., movement towards a point of reference, typically the speaker or a contextually defined goal). It has numerous phrasal verb and idiomatic extensions covering temporal, spatial, and abstract concepts.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Minor: Brits might use 'come round' where Americans often use 'come over' for visiting. In dates, Brits say 'come to stay' vs. AmE 'come stay'. In perfect tenses, Brits more commonly use 'have come' whereas AmE accepts both 'have come' and 'came'.
Connotations
Similar connotations in both varieties.
Frequency
Extremely high frequency in both; slight differences in phrasal verb preference (e.g., 'come over' slightly more AmE).
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
intransitiveintransitive + prepositional phrase (to/from/into)copula-like (come + adjective)come to do somethingVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “come rain or shine”
- “come to light”
- “come full circle”
- “come clean”
- “come apart at the seams”
- “come to a head”
- “how come?”
- “come hell or high water”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
"The quarterly results will come in next Tuesday."
Academic
"This conclusion comes from years of longitudinal study."
Everyday
"Can you come to my party on Saturday?"
Technical
"The signal comes through the fibre optic cable."
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- She'll come round for tea at four.
- When did the idea first come to you?
- I've come to appreciate his humour.
- The button has come loose.
American English
- She'll come over for coffee at four.
- When did the idea first come to you?
- I've come to appreciate his humor.
- The button came loose.
adverb
British English
- Used informally and regionally: 'Don't come the innocent with me!' (verb+adverb idiom).
American English
- Used informally and regionally: 'Don't come at me with that attitude!' (verb+preposition idiom).
adjective
British English
- Used in compounds: 'a come-hither look', 'the come-on'.
American English
- Used in compounds: 'a come-hither look', 'the come-on'.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- Please come here.
- He comes from Spain.
- Spring came early this year.
- Come with me.
- She didn't come to the meeting yesterday.
- The book comes in three different colours.
- How did you come to know about this?
- My dream finally came true.
- The issue came up during the negotiations.
- He came across as very confident.
- After years of work, it all came together.
- I've come to realise how important this is.
- Her resignation came as a bolt from the blue.
- The manuscript came to light in a private collection.
- Such opportunities don't come along every day.
- The project came undone due to lack of funding.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
C.O.M.E. = Close On My Environment (movement towards me).
Conceptual Metaphor
TIME IS MOTION TOWARDS THE OBSERVER (e.g., 'Christmas is coming'), STATES ARE DESTINATIONS (e.g., 'come undone'), SUCCESS IS ARRIVAL (e.g., 'a dream come true').
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid translating 'приходить' as 'come' when the destination is not the speaker/listener's location (use 'go' instead). Confusing 'come' with 'become' ('становиться'). Overusing 'come' for abstract 'возникать' where 'occur' or 'arise' is better.
Common Mistakes
- Incorrect tense: 'I have came' instead of 'I have come'. Confusing 'come' and 'go' based on deictic centre. Incorrect particle: 'come to home' instead of 'come home'. Using transitive incorrectly: 'He came me' instead of 'He came to me'.
Practice
Quiz
Which sentence uses 'come' correctly with the concept of 'achieving a state'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
'Come' indicates movement towards the speaker/listener or a shared point of reference. 'Go' indicates movement away from that point. e.g., 'Come to my office' (I'm in the office) vs. 'Go to his office' (I'm not there).
Yes. Its principal parts are: base 'come', past 'came', past participle 'come'. The past participle is identical to the base form, which is a common error source ('have came' is incorrect).
Typically no. It is primarily intransitive, requiring a preposition (come to, come from, come with). However, in informal/regional speech, you might hear transitive uses like 'Don't come that with me!' meaning 'Don't behave that way with me.'
It means 'amount to' or 'total'. It's used when asking for a final sum, especially a bill or calculation.
Collections
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