Korean Job Discussion Forums

[chaz47]

difference between "come" and "go"? any thoughts on this one? my Korean coteacher was asked this by one of her students... she asked me and i couldn't reason it out, so much of English seems to rely on context for its meaning, any input is appreciated, thanks

[VanIslander]

STOP trying to teach the meaning of words.

Start teaching the uses of words.

One of the mistakes untrained newbie teachers make is trying to cover all uses of a word in a lesson: it's impossible to do in many cases and even where possible it's often unhelpful.

I can't imagine even trying to think up every possible use of the words "come" and "go". It's not how we learn our first language and it shouldn't be how we teach a second language.

Think about it. This is a fundamental point about pedagogy. Don't define words, indicate a common use.

"Come here", "Come to the white board", "Go to the door" and "Go to the window" are beginner lessons in kindergarten classes. "Come to my house tomorrow", "Come shopping with me", "Go outside" etc are parts of dialogues I teach with those who've begun to read and write.

[Hater Depot]

Go = ����
Come = ����

It's escaping me what is difficult about this. It depends on the direction of movement relative to the speaker. If I'm at home and my friend arrives, I'll say he came to my house, not he went to my house. But over at my friend's house, his mom will say he went to HD's house, not he came to HD's house.

[wwidgirl]

[SuperHero]

go = direction away from the speaker(s)
come = direction towards the speaker(s)

this is not exact but is a good rule of thumb

[Ya-ta Boy]

Yes, it is clear that the location of the speaker is the key.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that what the OP is asking is what do you say when you are in the coffee shop and asking your friend to visit your home tomorrow.

I think you would still say, "Come over to my house tomorrow." (Even though I am not there now.) But I would say, "Go over to my house tomorrow and pick up my books. Then meet me downtown." (The difference is that in one case I will be there, so I use 'come'.)

[Hater Depot]

If you're not being sarcastic then perhaps this will help.


generic hagwon ------------------------> adult bookstore

A man travels from his generic hagwon to the local adult bookstore. So whether he is coming or going depends on your perspective.

The people left behind at the hagwon will say "He's going to the adult bookstore."

His friend waiting for him at the adult bookstore will say "He's coming to meet me here." Or perhaps there are two friends and one is getting impatient. "Is he coming?" "Don't worry, he's coming."

And if you're standing outside, godlike, as we are, you might say "He's coming to the bookstore from the hagwon." or "He's going from the hagwon to the bookstore."

Really if you can't handle "come" and "go" I'm not sure how you'll ever master "to" and "from".

[joe_doufu]

[Billy Pilgrim]

[Qinella]

Chaz47, when I read your OP, I thought, "There's no way that this person doesn't know the difference between come and go! Why is s/he teaching English??!!" Then I calmed down and assumed there must have been a specific example that kept breaking the ordinary rules, as happens often in this language. It's just too unbelievable that a Korean English teacher doesn't know the basic translation for come/go. These are Lesson 1 words.

Therefore, would you mind elaborating? What was difficult about come and go? Detail would help generate more meaningful responses.

Q~

[chaz47]

well... first off let me say that i am not an English major, i have a good vocabulary and the much sought after North American Midwestern accent... i'm also good with people... i enjoy moonlit walks, etc. (hahaha)

the question reached me vicariously through my Korean coteacher, she has to addrress the nuances of the language as nuts and bolts, she is an English major, if i don't understand something i simply say that it doesn't sound natural and that i don't study grammar, please ask your Homeroom Teacher

normally if she and i (my Korean coteacher) sit down and discuss questions like this we can come up with an answer but this one seemed to rely too heavily on context...

think about it:
you go to a movie

you come home for dinner... you could also go home for dinner.... you could also go out for dinner... if you were invited you could "come out"

if you were invited to a party would you say to your inviter, "OK I'll go." or would you say "OK I'll come."

etc.

"come means.. to go to.. go means to go from" ?


context seems to be crucial in this case as it is with so much of the language.

[Sliver]

Okay, until reading your last post I though perhaps the co-workers confusion comes from cultural pragmatics.

In most cases come means ���� and go means ���� except in one important pragmatic situation in Korean.

If you are 'on your way' to someone's house and they call you or somehow get in touch with you, in English you say 'I'm coming' but in Korean you say' I'm going (���°ž�, �����ִ� etc).

However with regards to this

[Hater Depot]

I hope she's not trying to translate ���ٿ���. It's not in English and I still screw it up every time I try to use it.

[ajuma]

I suggest getting a copy of "Collins CoBuild English Usage". It deals with most USAGE questions and also tells how NOT to use words. It's my bible!!

[The evil penguin]

I say go back to using your much sought after north american mid-west accent at the local north american mid-west McD's drive-through...

Or else get a grammar book. And no, thats not a book about your Mum or Dad's mother... Make it a basic one. With pictures....