Some English words cover a wide range of meanings. One such example is the verb to come. In order to master all the options for use and make it part of your active vocabulary, you need to thoroughly study this topic.
Basic meanings and forms of the verb come
Basic translation options: come, come, arrive, come up.
Example: What would you do if he came? (Come is a verb that, unlike the word go, implies approaching the speaker, returning). Translation: What would you do if he came?
However, the range of meanings of this word is much wider. In order to understand the meaning of what has been said, it should be translated taking into account the context. Here is a partial list of possible uses:
- Come, tell them all you know about him. “Well, tell them everything you know about him.”
- Your book came in useful. “Your book came in handy.”
- I want to come into play. “I want to take action.”
- A fear came over him. - Fear seized him.
- Come to my place the day after tomorrow. - Come to me the day after tomorrow.
Come (came, come) is a verb that is irregular, which means that the forms of its use do not obey the basic rule, and you just need to remember them.
Phrasal verb
In English, some verbs have one peculiarity: in combination with adverbs or prepositions, the main word changes its meaning. The resulting phrases are called phrasal verbs. They are quite common both in everyday speech and in literature.
Let us examine the verb in combination with prepositions.
| come | about | to happen |
| across | meet unexpectedly find |
| along | hurry up |
| for | go behind (by someone) |
| from (of) | belong (to the number), come from |
| into | inherit, inherit |
| off | come off (about buttons), fall out (about hair) |
| on | 1) Rather! Come on!
2) Succeed, achieve success, grow.
3) Approach, begin, approach. |
| out | 1) go out;
2) go to print, appear in print;
3) to blossom (about flowers), to blossom;
4) appear, pour out (about acne, rash);
5) to end. |
| out with | make a statement (statement) |
| over | 1) come, visit;
2) master, embrace;
3) come to mind. |
| to | reach up to cost |
| up | become a subject of discussion, arise (about a question) |
| upon | come to someone's mind |
Now let's find out what the phrasal verb come in combination with adverbs looks like.
| come | back | 1) to return;
2) to remember. |
| by | 1) pass by;
2) receive, get, mine. |
| down | to come (from the capital to the suburbs, to the province) |
| down on (upon) | pounce on, scold |
| round | drop by |
To increase the likelihood of remembering new phrases, it is not enough just to write out and memorize. New vocabulary should be part of your active vocabulary.
Examples of use
The best way to learn new words is to come up with a few sentences with each of them and try to introduce new vocabulary into your written and oral speech.
The following are examples of usage with some of the above phrases.
- How did it come about that she went to live in China? - How did it happen that she went to live in China?
- I came across some old books. “I accidentally found some old books.”
- Come along ! They are waiting for us. - Hurry up! They are waiting for us.
- She will come back tomorrow. “She will be back tomorrow.”
- I had no idea what to do. But suddenly it came over me that I had to go here. “I did not know what to do.” But suddenly it occurred to me to go there.
- I was surprised that such a question came up at the meeting. - I was surprised that such a question was discussed at the meeting.
- Please, come round and see me. “Please come see me.”
- I come for them at 12 o'clock. - I will come after them at 12 o’clock.
Persistent Phrases
It is worth mentioning another feature that is found in almost all languages. These stable expressions are indivisible constructions used unchanged. In some cases, it is quite difficult to understand the meaning of a particular phrase. For the most part, these are idioms and idioms that you just need to learn.
Come (came, come) is a verb that is part of many idiomatic expressions. The following are some of them:
- ~ it strong - exaggerate;
- ~ and go - going back and forth;
- ~ what may - be what happens;
- ~ a cropper - crash;
- ~ unstuck - fail, get into trouble;
- ~ to pass - to happen, to happen;
- ~ true - come true, come true;
- ~ clean - admit, split;
- ~ rain or shine - under any circumstances, in any case.
Using similar phrases in your speech, remember that in the past tense came is used (come - a verb related to incorrect). For example: She wanted to pass an examination. Unfortunately, she came a cropper. “She wanted to pass the exam. Unfortunately, she failed.”