290. Ways of Using COME

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The uses of COME extend quite far beyond the well-known ones

THE COMPLEXITY OF come

Small common verbs tend in any language to have an extensive variety of meanings and uses that makes them difficult to master quickly. Here, the variety of the verb COME is given detailed consideration, with especial attention paid to usage that is idiomatic and/or very capable of occurring in formal writing. Although this is unlikely to provide instant mastery of the verb (see 202. Some Strategies for Learning English, “Practice Strategies”), it may reduce the time taken.

Of course, dictionaries too provide extensive information about small common verbs. My thinking in doing the same here is that dictionaries’ need to save space can make their explanations and illustrations frustratingly brief and therefore harder to appreciate and remember. In these pages, there is the benefit of not just extra space, but also the potential to link to further explanation elsewhere. Sometimes, there may even be an insight that dictionaries have overlooked.

Other small verbs that are similarly analysed in this blog are HAVE,  MAKE,  GO, DO,  GIVE and TAKE.

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THE SIMPLE INTRANSITIVE USE

Intransitive verbs cannot be passive and are used in the active form without an object (see 113. Verbs that cannot be Passive). Although COME occasionally breaks these expectations (see below), it is a very typical intransitive verb. Its use is “simple” when there are no accompanying words at all apart from its subject.

The simple use of COME very often expresses its familiar fundamental meaning of movement to somewhere that is being focussed on. The mover is sometimes a concrete one, such as a person, animal or moving object, and sometimes more abstract, often a moment in time (Summer came).

The place that is being focussed on is likely in conversation to be that of the person using COME. For example, if a person X said Y came, they would typically mean that Y moved to where X was. An alternative place of focus is one that has just been described. Movement towards a place of focus is, of course, the opposite of what GO means, and mirrors that of BRING compared to TAKE (see 264. Variations in the Use of TAKE, #14).

Another very elementary meaning that the simple use of COME often expresses is very like that of GO + activity (go for a walk, go visiting etc: see 176. Ways of Using GO, #3). COME is likely to be preferred when its subject is accompanying a focus person in the activity, e.g. Y will come (visiting) (with us). Here, COME indicates not movement towards, but movement with the focus.

A few other meanings of the simple intransitive use of COME are possible.

1. Visit

In this familiar use, the subject of COME is a visitor to a place of focus.

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2. Attend

To attend is to participate in a formal gathering. COME has this meaning when its subject is human and the gathering is the place of focus.

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3. Happen (Be Seen/Heard)

With this meaning, COME often follows there:

(a) There came an almighty crash.

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4. Approach

To approach is to move towards a focus point without actually arriving. COME with this meaning is usually in a continuous tense (…are coming) or combined with an adverb like close or near.

The participle coming is often a synonym of future-referring next (the coming Sunday). Following is its equivalent in past-time descriptions (see 282. Features of History Writing, #9), but means “after next” in the present.

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USE WITH A PREPOSITION

Various meanings result from combining COME with particular following prepositions.

5. Reach

To reach somewhere is to complete a journey to it (see 250. Synonym Pairs with Contrasting Grammar, #1). The journey may be a real one across geographical space or metaphorical across something else. COME can express either meaning in combination with to:

(b) Next day, the group came to Baghdad.

(c) The flood came up to the gardens.

The destinations here (Baghdad, the gardens) are the writer or somewhere that a description is focussing on. GO would be preferred if the focus were different.

Even more metaphorical is the idea of something immovable “reaching” somewhere, for example the lawn instead of the floodwater in (c). COME used like this conveys extensiveness rather than movement.

Another metaphorical use of both REACH and COME TO is with “action” nouns to express completion of the action, as in come to a conclusion (see 173. “Do Research” or “Make Research”?, #4).

In professional contexts, COME meaning “reach” often introduces a new stage of an exposition. It typically follows I or we, and precedes to + the stage name (Now we come to…: see 186. Language in Oral Presentations, #2).

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6. Be Positioned

A proverb illustrating this more static meaning is:

(d) Pride comes before a fall.

The position here is in time, but can also be in a spatial sequence (see 295. Options in Saying Where, #1). It must be already-occupied; otherwise GO seems more likely. For example, a not-yet-inserted piece of a jigsaw puzzle is usually said to go rather than come somewhere.

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7. Originate

This familiar meaning of course involves from. There is the stative characteristic-describing use in statements like …comes from Seoul and the dynamic movement one, as in …has come from afar.

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8. Be Available

Used with in, COME can indicate aspects of merchandise on sale. Cars may come in different colours, clothes in various sizes, and gifts in a pretty box.

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9. Suffer

COME with this meaning needs to and a noun naming specific eventual harm, such as grief, a bad/sad end and no harm. Harm that is incidental rather than eventual is more likely to be the object of SUFFER or TAKE (see 264. Variations in the Use of TAKE, #9).

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10. Be Included

COME is usable before within and a set of definitions, laws, rules, etc:

(e) Holiday entitlements come within the Workers’ Rights Legislation.

There is also a use with into or under + previously-established category:

(f) Fish come into the category of vertebrates.

After under, the category of is optional (see 162. Writing about Classifications, final section).

OTHER USES

11. Before a Noun

COME resembles GO in being able to directly precede distance expressions, e.g. 10km, a short distance, and phrases containing the word way (see 176. Ways of Using GO, #1). Common way phrases are a long way, the wrong way and a new way. Saying that something comes the way of someone means they experience it by chance:

(g) Many blessings come the way of those who are humble.

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12. Within Multi-Word Verbs

Some verb-preposition combinations work so closely together that they are best considered single object-requiring “prepositional” verbs (see 44. Troublesome Prepositional Verbs). Common COME examples include COME ACROSS… (= accidentally find), COME BY… (= acquire), COME INTO… (= inherit), COME THROUGH… (= survive), COME TO… (= total) and COME UPON… (= accidentally encounter).

Similar to prepositional verbs are “phrasal” ones, where the verb accompanies a preposition-like adverb (see 139. Phrasal Verbs), sometimes with no object. After COME, objects are rare. Combinations include COME ALONG (= accompany on a trip), COME AROUND (= regain consciousness or yield to persuasion), COME AWAY (= break off from a larger mass), COME BACK (= return), COME OFF (= succeed), COME OVER (+ adverb = be perceived) and COME TO (= regain consciousness).

There are also some common 3-word “phrasal-prepositional” verbs: COME IN FOR (+ punishment = undergo), COME OUT WITH (= utter), COME UP AGAINST (+ opponent or problem = encounter) and COME UP WITH (= think of).

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13. In the Passive Voice

Despite its intransitive nature, COME has a surprising passive-like use that is also found with a small number of other intransitive verbs (see 207. Exotic Grammar Structures 4, #1):

(h) The hour is come when the challenge must be met.

Is come here has the typical form of passive verbs (BE + “past” participle), yet it is not a true passive because its meaning does not differ in the same way from its active equivalent (comes) as most normal passives do (see 21. Active Verbs with Non-Active Meanings). The meaning of BE COME is more like that of the perfect active form HAVE COME.

Both BE COME and HAVE COME express a state. The difference is perhaps that the former focuses attention more on the final state, the latter on the action causing it. There is also a more poetic feel to BE COME.

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14. With a Complement

Sometimes, a subject noun before COME is matched or described by another noun, or an adjective, directly after it:

(i) Use good quality glue or the fixing will come loose.

Here, the adjective loose describes the subject noun the fixing.

Only a few words can be a complement of COME. Sequence adjectives (first, second, third etc.), plus clean, loose, right, true and the idiomatic noun a cropper (= harmed) express an end state, making come similar to, and replaceable by, become. The expression comes cheap, however, indicates a permanent state.

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15. Before a Participle

One use under this heading is the already-mentioned COME -ing expressing accompaniment in a leisure activity (e.g. come sightseeing). In another, COME means “be available” (#7). An -ing or ed participle replaces a following in phrase (comes smelling of…, comes wrapped in…).

Sometimes, COME has its basic “arrive” meaning and -ing indicates simultaneous behaviour of the arriving person or thing. A new product, for example, might come bursting onto the market and a visitor might come wearing formal clothing.

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16. Before a “to” Verb

A to verb (infinitive) does not always express a purpose after COME. A common alternative, sometimes leading to a double meaning, is a desirable mental state developed over time. Some infinitives seem particularly likely to have this meaning, common ones including accept, agree, appreciate, associate, enjoy, feel, know, question, realise, recognise, see, think and understand.

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17. In the Subjunctive Mood

“Subjunctive” is a particular set of verb forms, most the same as the infinitive, that indicate something indefinite. Subjunctive COME usually precedes its subject, this typically being a time noun (e.g. come Sunday), through which the meaning of when is implied (when Sunday comes).

Sometimes, subjunctive come precedes two nouns separated by or in an adverb-like statement of unimportance:

(j) Come rain or shine, a harvest has to be gathered.

This fixed expression means “regardless of rain or sunshine” (see 199. Importance and Unimportance, #7). Unimportance is also expressed by come what may. For a detailed description of subjunctive COME, see 228. Exotic Grammar Structures 5, #4.

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18. In other Fixed Phrases

The following are common:

Come again? = Can you repeat that?
come and go = exist briefly[1]
come into its/her (etc.) own = become the most suitable
come of age = reach adulthood
come to terms with… = learn to endure…
come up short = not suffice
come up trumps = find/be the best solution
have it coming = will be punished (for undesirable behaviour)
How come? = How has this happened?[2]
up and coming = approaching the top rank[1].

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[1]See 209. Fixed Phrases with “and”, #2 and #4
[2]See 274. Questions with a Hidden Meaning, #6

289. Exotic Grammar Structures 8

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Some English grammar structures are unlikely to be described in language coursebooks

THE NATURE OF “EXOTIC” STRUCTURES

English has surprisingly many grammar structures that are not commonly found in language coursebooks, so that they could be called “exotic”. Some structures are of this kind because they have not been clearly identified by grammarians. Many others, though, are ignored by course designers because they are rare. There is usually insufficient space to cover the whole of English grammar, and the more common structures are preferred in the belief that this will give learners the greatest chance of success in future communication.

However, structures that are not commonly found in language-learning coursebooks can still be useful to know, especially for English users with a more advanced competence, who are the target audience of this blog. It is in this belief that posts like the present one are offered. Five exotic structures feature below, along with a practice exercise. To access the other posts, see 88. Exotic Grammar Structures 1.

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 STRUCTURE LIST

1. Sentence-Starting Thus + Participle

EXAMPLE

(a) Thus protected, staff worked fearlessly.

Thus, an adverb related to this, means “in this way” (see 85. Preposition Phrases & Corresponding Adverbs). It has various uses, some as a “connector”, showing how its sentence is linked to the one before, and some as a “manner adverb”, saying how a verb’s meaning happens or exists.

As a connector, thus may mark its sentence as an illustration (see 33. Complex Example-Giving), or a conclusion, or a summary. As a manner adverb, thus can link with an -ing verb after a comma in order to name a consequence (see the end of 32. Expressing Consequences), or it can link its verb with something said after it (X spoke thus: “…”), or it can work with a participle at the start of a sentence to repeat something said in the sentence before.

It is the last of these uses that is illustrated above. Consider this possible preceding sentence:

(b) An instruction was given to wear fire-proof clothing.

The underlined words here are the part repeated by thus protected in (a). Protected is recognizable as a participle there because it describes the noun staff after it (see 75. How to Avoid “Dangling” Participles).

Quite often, the participle alongside thus seems to be omissible – sentence (a) above would say the same if it started with thus alone. The participle seems to make the link clearer. Sometimes, it precedes rather than follows thus: thus protected above could also be protected thus.

Participles with -ing are also usable in this structure, but perhaps not as easily. One possible reason is that to accompany thus they must usually lack dependent wording such as an object or complement, and this is more difficult for them because of their active rather than passive status. Examples of -ing participles that might easily accompany a starting thus are sitting, speaking and suffering. They seem more able, even likely, to follow rather than precede thus.

The exercise in the final section below offers practice in choosing appropriate participles with thus.

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2. It could be that…

EXAMPLE

(c) It could be that nobody is interested.

This expression indicates that its accompanying statement is speculation, naming a possible but unproven truth. Very often, the statement seems to be a reason for something stated earlier (see 306. Ways of Giving a Reason, #4)

The it at the start is a “dummy” subject of could be, representing the later true subject that nobody is interested (see 103. Representing a Later Statement with “it”). Could expresses a relatively weak possibility, but is replaceable by stronger alternatives like may and may well (see 237. Auxiliary Verbs in Professional Communication, #2). Can is not an alternative: it can be that… introduces an occasional rather than hypothetical event or situation, where can means “sometimes” instead of “perhaps”.

Modal verbs like could are paraphrasable with possible, but may be preferable because they make misunderstanding less likely. This is because is possible can mean a number of other things besides speculation (see 181. Expressing Possibility), and there will be contexts where one or more of these other meanings will not be ruled out.

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3. Noun + Comma + Infinitive

EXAMPLES

(d) The theory, to be fully considered later, has many supporters.

(e) Today’s need, to reduce pollution, requires urgent attention.

The possibility of an infinitive verb (with to) saying something about a noun just before it is given some attention elsewhere in this blog in 239. Nouns Combined with a “to” Verb. However, the focus is entirely on usage without an intervening comma. Three main types of these infinitives are described: Function-naming (e.g. machines to dig), passive-like (e.g. work to do/be done), and noun-generated (e.g. a desire to see/be seen).

The use with a comma seems most likely with the second and third of these types. Sentence (d) above illustrates the comma use with the second type, sentence (e) with the third. The comma in both is actually the start of a parenthesis, necessitating another (or a full stop) later on. After the comma there is usually the possibility of adding which + BE, so that the parenthesis becomes a relative clause.

In (d), the passive infinitive form (be considered) is notable. A passive infinitive appears to be always necessary after a comma in the passive-like use, even though its equivalent without the comma is very often active (to consider). The meaning difference created by adding the comma involves not so much the difference between active and passive as the difference between relative clauses with and without a comma (considered in this blog in detail in 34. Relative Pronouns and Commas).

Thus, to be considered in (d) would, without a comma, identify which of various theories was meant; but with a comma this identity is already understood, so that to be considered says something additional about it. The starting the differs in each case. Where there is no comma, the signals that identification of its noun follows it; with a comma, the message is that the identification was earlier.

The situation is similar in (e). Without a comma, today’s need to reduce pollution would imply that other pollution-reducing needs existed, such as yesterday’s and/or tomorrow’s. With a comma, by contrast, the pollution-reducing need existing today could be the only one: the existence of other types is left vague.

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4. Upon which

EXAMPLE

(f) The clock struck 11.00, upon which the war ended.

This use resembles that of when meaning “and then”, as in the following sentence from 271. Tricky Grammar Contrasts 3, #4:

(g) The ship was running out of supplies, when land was spotted.

Like this use of when, upon which must follow mention of something timed earlier, and introduce information that has equal focus in the sentence – i.e. is not “subordinated”. Which refers to the entire preceding statement, not just part of it (see 200. Special Uses of Relative Clauses, #2). The difference between when and upon which is the kind of verb before them: when usually has BE before or a verb that, like was running, is in a continuous (BE -ing) tense; upon which usually follows an instantaneous-action verb like STRIKE. For more on these verb types, see 225. Simultaneous Occurrence.

Upon which also resembles at which and with which. The first of these differs in naming a consequent rather than subsequent action. The second always needs a verb with the same subject as the preceding one: where the two subjects are different (cp. the clock / the war above), only upon which is possible. All three expressions have a corresponding form with that instead of which, enabling use at the start of a new sentence (see 234. Adjective and Pronoun Uses of “that”, #1).

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5. Time Noun + later + and

EXAMPLE

(h) Three weeks later, and still nothing has happened.

Time nouns are well known for being usable in adverb positions without a preceding preposition, the normal means of making nouns adverb-like. Instead, they either follow a particular type of adjective (last, next, previous, following, every, a number word) or precede a particular type of time adverb (ago, before, later, previously). What is striking in the above example is the following and.

When and is present, the time noun can only start the sentence – the possibility of ending it is ruled out. Furthermore, the words Now it is… are implied at the start. It is indeed these implied words that explain the inclusion of and: it is linking two verbs (the implied is, plus has) just as conjunctions in general do (see 174. Eight Things to Know about Conjunctions, #1).

As the implied words show, sentences like (h) refer to their user’s own “now”. Reflecting this, the tense of the main verb in the sentence (has happened above) must also be present-referring. If this condition is met, the use without and is also possible, but would be less emphatic about the time being the present. If it is not met, and cannot be used.

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PRACTICE EXERCISE: THUS + PARTICIPLE

Below are some sentence pairs containing a blank space for a participle. Can you suggest at least one -ed or -ing participle that might fit logically into the space? My own suggestions are given afterwards.

1. Adjectives can be an object complement. ____ thus, they follow the noun they describe.

2. There is much to recommend about a coach journey. ____ thus, one learns much about a country.

3. Remember to bring your phone and bank card. Thus ____, you can go anywhere.

4. Most stores advertise bargain prices. Thus ____, customers will often buy something extra.

5. The railway reaches all the main cities. Thus _____, they have great earning potential.

6. Engineers tested each stage before starting the next. _____ thus, they completed the project safely.

7. CCTV records all activity at the site. Thus ______, visitors are deterred from crime.

8. A promise was given to increase wages. Thus ____, the negotiators departed.

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SUGGESTED ANSWERS (others may be possible too)

1 = deployed, employed, used, utilised, located, positioned, placed;  2 = journeying, touring, travelling, transported;  3 = armed, equipped, prepared;  4 = attracted, drawn, encouraged, enticed, impelled, interested, motivated, persuaded, tempted;  5 = (inter)connected, (inter)linked, joined, enhanced, served;  6 = working, operating, organised, thinking;  7 = observed, detected, watched, filmed, recorded;  8 = pacified, reassured, rewarded, satisfied