when do we use 'come' or 'go'

came/come vs. went/go

Two words that are always mixed up are came and went. These words are similar but not interchangeable. Let’s look at the difference and how to use them.

Essentially…..

Come and go are both used to talk about travel and movement. Like “come here” and “I want to go to india.”

But…

Came and come are used when you are referring to a location that you are currently in. Go and went are used to refer to a location that is somewhere else. Let’s see some examples.

“I want you to come to Spain and visit me.”

• The speaker is in Spain and we know that because he uses the word “come” and not “go.”

“I want to go to Spain.”

• The speaker is not in Spain and we know this because he uses the word ‘go.’

These words are not so hard to understand and if you know the difference, it is easy to avoid making mistakes.

Lets see some more examples and then you can try and activity!

EXAMPLE:

Dialogue:

Daryl: I don't know where to go for my vacation.

Susana: Why don't you go to China, they have lots of cool food!

Daryl: I don't wanna go so far, the travel is expensive. I might go to North america.

Susana: That's a great Idea, you can always come to Canada.

Daryl: I would love to go to canada. Maybe someday you can come to Sweden.

Is Daryl or Susana in China? No.

Where is daryl? Sweden.

Where is susana? Canada.

ACTIVITY: read the dialogues and answer the questions.

Number one:

Tim: Hey, where are you traveling?

Tina: I am going to Amsterdam.

Tim: Nice, when do you come back to Krakow?

Tina: Next week I will come back. And what about you, where are you going?

Tim: I am going to Paris, I will come back to Krakow in 10 days.

• Where are Tina and Tim right now?

• Where do they want to travel to?

Number two:

Marco: Taxi!

Taxi driver: Where do you want to go?

Marco: I have to go to the pharmacy on 5th ave.

Taxi driver: Okay, do you need to come back to the Hotel after?

Marco: Yes, please and thank you.

Taxi driver: Okay, I will wait for you when you go into the pharmacy.

• Where is Marco right now?

• Where does Marco want to go?

Number three

**cell phone rings**

Jeremy: Hey honey, when are you coming back to the house?

Amanda: I will be there soon, I have to go to my brother's house to get the tables, then I will be on my way home!

Jeremy: Okay great, see you soon!

Amanda: See you soon! Kisses, bye!

• Where is jeremy?

• Is Amanda at her brother's house right now?

Number four

Grace: Tom where are you going?

Tom: I am going to McDonalds for lunch, do you want anything?

Grace: No thanks, when are you coming back to the office?

Tom: I’ll be back in an hour.

Grace: See later, bye!

Tom: Bye!

• Is Tom or Grace at McDonalds now?

• Where are Tom and Grace right now?

• How do you know?

However… It would not be English if there wasn’t an exception or two. Let’s see what I mean.

Lets first see some exceptions and then I will explain.

Can I come to your house right now?

We also seem to use come when the listener is already there and we are talking about ourselves traveling to their location. More examples include:

I'm coming to your city, can I stay at your house?

I'm coming to the restaurant right now, can you get us a table?

Wait at the park, I'm coming.

For some reason, we use come / coming when we are going to their location. But don't worry, we can also use going, but it just doesn't sound so good.

Summary:

Come:

We use come when we are talking about the location that we are currently in.

We also use come when we are talking about ourselves going to the location of the speaker.

Go:

We use go when we are talking about traveling to a place that nor we or the speaker is currently in.

Tip:

ASK YOURSELF:

• Am I currently in the location I'm talking about?

• Is the speaker currently in that location?

**if the answer is yes to either of the previous, use “come” and otherwise, use “go.”