Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[pinkygirl]

Dear all,
Can you tell me the difference between "go" and "come"?
Many thanks
_________________
This world is really nice. Why don't you enjoy it properly?

[2006]

"Go" means to move away from where you are now. "Come" means to move towards where you are now.

Imagine that your friends are visiting you at your home now. After a while they will go (to their own) home. Tomorrow they will come back to your house to see you again.

You can say things like "go away from me" and "come back to me".

[pugachevV]

But when you say to your friend, I will come to your place", you actually go to his place.

[2006]

But it is not correct to say "I will come to your place" unless you are at that person's place now!


I will come (to your place)(here) again tomorrow. (you are there now)

[Lorikeet]

If my friend calls me on the phone and invites me over, I could say, "Okay, I'll come over tomorrow." However, I would most likely tell my husband, "I'm going over to my friend's house." I think it's because I'm thinking of my friend being at her home. I could also call up a friend and say, "I'm sorry I can't come over today but something came up." Am I the only one who uses this?

[nostril5]

You are right. The person's home is the point for which you use 'come' to refer to. So, "I'll come to your house." is perfect English.
Regards,
Mike

[2006]

I would make a distinction between "perfect English" and what people commonly say.

Of course I am focusing on the fact that the original poster doesn't know the difference between "go" and "come". So my inclination is to explain how the words should be correctly used and have them understand the directional difference between the two words.

How they end up using them later is up to them.

[Lorikeet]

I guess I have a different view of "correct." Part of the interesting aspect of language is that it is always changing. Some of what was taught 50 years ago is no longer considered "appropriate" and some of what we are teaching now will probably be dropped 50 years from now. I guess it's jarring to me to hear absolutes about what is and is not acceptable when sometimes there are gray areas. If lots of people say something, then I'd rather explain that it is appropriate in a conversational context, and perhaps not as appropriate in a more formal setting.

"Go" and "Come" is more than a directional difference. It also involves the point of reference, as nostril5 mentioned.

Of course, I'm not about to teach some of the changes I feel are coming, although I may mention them to my students, depending on what level they are and how it comes up. I'm thinking of grammar such as the decline in the use of the past perfect, the use of the simple past in American English where the present perfect is used in British English (Did you eat yet?) and one of my particular favorites, the use of "there's" to mean "there is" and "there are." No, I wouldn't teach the sentence "There's some cookies on the table," but I hear that more and more. I've seen it in print in the newspaper, and heard it on the radio...Hmm, I guess I got a bit off track here, but my point is that languages change and I sure don't want to turn into the kind of grammar teacher that insists on using "shall" instead of "will" for first person, and that "might" is the past for "may".

[2006]

But the bottom line is how does one start teaching "go" and "come" to someone who supposedly knows little or nothing about the two words. It seems logical to start with the basics and go from there. You cannot deny that the directional aspect is one of the basic features, and I would say also the most important one, for a beginner to understand.

I don't think that 'shall and will' or 'may and might' are in the same category as 'go and come'. I certainly wouldn't waste much time on the first two pairs.

This illustrates the point that it is very difficult to teach English by committee on the internet. The teachers have different outlooks and the students are not a homogenous group. Some have to write exams and some want to be able to talk to native speakers.

Should we simultaneously teach two kinds of English? I guess it is ultimately up to Dave's ESL Cafe to decide what kind of English should be taught here.

[Lorikeet]

I think the discussions we have can be useful to the students. There are often different answers for the same questions. Certainly direction is the most important element in go and come. But it was you who said it was incorrect to say "I will come to your place" unless you were at that place. That's what started the other piece of the discussion.