Coming Time Extra Examples I People Kʌm Work

• he left and said he was never coming back.
• he came into the room and shut the door.
• she comes to work by bus.
• my son is coming home soon.

come

Verb Forms

1. to move to or towards a person or place
• He left and said he was never coming back.
• He came into the room and shut the door.
• She comes to work by bus.
• My son is coming home soon.
• Come here!
• Come and see us soon!
• Here comes Jo! (= Jo is coming)
• There's a storm coming.
• They're coming to stay for a week.

Extra Examples

• He came towards me.
• I hope you can come to Australia to visit us.
• It's looks as if there's a storm coming.
• When is your son coming home?
2. to arrive at or reach a place
• They continued until they came to a river.
• She came to work wearing a very smart suit.
• They came as far as the gate.
• People came from all over the country.
• Your breakfast is coming soon.
• Have any letters come for me?
• Help came at last.

Extra Examples

• What time did you come (= to my house)?
• People came from all over the world to settle here.
• Let me know if any more mail comes.
• He came to England by ship.
• If you come late, the doctor may not be able to see you.
3. to arrive somewhere in order to do something or get something
• I've come for my book.
• I've come about my book.
• I've come to get my book.
• He came looking for me.

Extra Examples

• I've come for those books you promised me.
• I've come to see Mrs Cooper.
4. to move or travel, especially with somebody else, to a particular place or in order to be present at an event
• I've only come for an hour.
• Thanks for coming (= to my house, party, etc.).
• Ten thousand people came to hear him speak.
• Are you coming later?
• Are you coming to the club with us tonight?
• Come with me—I've got something to show you.
• Why don't you come skating tonight?

Extra Examples

• Please come to my party on September 10th.
• Are you coming to the theatre with us this evening?
• I'm sorry, I won't be able to come.
• Despite all the publicity, not many people came.
• If you can't come to the meeting, let us know in advance.
5. to travel a particular distance
• We've come 50 miles this morning.
• The company has come a long way (= made lot of progress) in the last 5 years.

Extra Examples

• He's come all the way from Tokyo.
• We've come a long way and we're very tired.
• How far have you come?
6. to move in a particular way or while doing something else
• A car came flying round the corner.
• A huge wave came crashing over the sea wall.
• Questions came rushing into her head.
• Don't expect me to come running every time you call.

Extra Examples

• The children came running into the room.
• A crowd of men on horses carrying spears came charging down the road.
7. to happen
• The agreement came after several hours of negotiations.
• The rains came too late to do any good.
• Spring came late this year.
• The time has come (= now is the moment) to act.
• His first goal came in the 81st minute.
• His resignation came as no surprise.
• Her death came as a terrible shock to us.
• More details of the event are coming soon.
• Come summer, people like to eat outdoors.

Extra Examples

• Dusk came quickly.
• I never thought the day would come when I'd feel sorry for him.
• The deadline came and went, but there was no reply from them.
• Business improved as Christmas came nearer.
• At last, the time came to leave.
• When the moment actually came, I began to feel a little nervous.
• He wanted to be buried beside her when the time came.
• The time had come to let a younger person lead the party.
• The high point of the concert came during the drum solo.
• Come November, the high-season horror of traffic jams subsides.
8. used in questions to talk about how or why something happened
• How did he come to break his leg?
• How do you come to be so late?
9. to have a particular position
• That comes a long way down my list of priorities.
• She came second (= received the second highest score) in the exam.
• His family comes first (= is the most important thing in his life).
10. used in many expressions to show that something has reached a particular state
• At last winter came to an end.
• He came to power in 2019.
• We need to come to an agreement on this issue.
• When will they come to a decision?
• our understanding of how the universe came into existence
• The trees are coming into leaf.
11. to be available or to exist in a particular way
• This dress comes in black and red.
• The DVD comes with several bonus features.
• New cars don't come cheap (= they are expensive).

Extra Examples

• This luxury villa comes complete with its own private swimming pool.
12. to become
• The handle came loose.
• The buttons had come undone.
• Everything will come right in the end.
• This design came to be known as the Oriental style.
13. to reach a point where you realize, understand or believe something
• In time she came to love him.
• She had come to see the problem in a new light.
• I've come to expect this kind of behaviour from him.
14. to have an orgasm
15. to be very clever, stupid, etc.
16. to play the part of a particular type of person; to behave in a particular way
• Don't come the innocent with me.
17. used to ask somebody to repeat something
• ‘She's an entomologist.’ ‘Come again?’ ‘An entomologist—she studies insects.’
18. to arrive and leave; to move freely
• They had a party next door—we heard people coming and going all night.
19. to be present for a short time and then go away
• The pain in my leg comes and goes.
20. to be easy, natural, etc. for somebody to do
• Acting comes naturally to her.
21. to be unsuccessful; to have no successful result
• How sad that all his hard work should come to nothing.
• Her plans didn't come to anything.
22. used to introduce something extra that is connected with what has just been said
• I don't really trust him—nor his wife, come to that.
23. despite any problems or difficulties you may have
• He promised to support her come what may.
24. used to say you do not understand how something can happen and would like an explanation
• ‘I think you owe me some money.’ ‘How come?’
• If she spent five years in Paris, how come her French is so bad?
25. to not be important or successful
26. in the future
• They may well regret the decision in years to come.
• This will be a problem for some time to come (= for a period of time in the future).
27. when it is a question of something
• When it comes to getting things done, he's useless.
28. somebody’s ideas, beliefs, personality, etc. that makes them say what they have said
• I see where you're coming from (= I understand what you mean).

Word Origin

• Old English cuman, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch komen and German kommen.