The difference between COME and GO

Do you ever confuse when to use go and when to use come? These two movement describing verbs are often used in similar situations, but confer two very different meanings.

In this episode of RealLifeTV, I’m going to tell you the difference between the verbs come and go and give you some examples, so you never confuse them again!

Remember that there is a transcript below to help you understand everything

Aww yeah! Let’s get started:

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Transcript:

Aww yeah, RealLifers! What’s going on?

This is Ethan with another video for you.

So, today I’m going to talk about something that my students tend to have a lot of difficulty with, and this is the difference between two verbs – go and come.

Is this RealLife?

So, go is any action that is away from the speaker, whereas come is the opposite, it’s an action that is towards the speaker.

All right, so let me give you a few examples to help you clarify this difference so that you won’t make this mistake anymore.

frenchman English come and go1.     Are you going to the party?

Are you coming to the party?

2.      When did you go to France?

When did you come to France?

3.      We’re going to the restaurant.

We’re coming to the restaurant.

So, last, I just want to talk about the phrasal verb come over. When you use come over, you’re referring to your house. So, you might tell someone, “Hey, do you want to come over later?”  But it’ s not necessary to add “my house.”

Another example would be, “Do you want to come over later?”

So, this is something that we, native speakers, use a lot, and it’s very useful for you to know that people refer to their house when they say “come over.”

All right, guys, I hope you found this video useful, remember to subscribe and comment below so we can keep bringing you great videos like this.

All right, later, guys!

  • Sérgio Rodrigues says:

    What is dificultt to understand Is why we say I am coming and not I am going when someone cals you to go there!

  • Muhammad says:

    Could you explain this to me again i can’t imagine it

    • Lizzie says:

      Hi Muhammad,
      Example: When you call to your mom (you’re in your company)
      In case, your mom is at home, you say: I’m coming home.
      In contrary, your mom isn’t at home, you say: I’m going home.

      • Lan says:

        thanks for your explaining, it’s so clearly.

  • Thanks guys your explanation really great

  • Anonymous says:

    thank for this explanation couse i was confuse about it

  • awesome tips! =D

  • Pejman Dashti says:

    excellent explanation, thx……although the video link is broken

  • Charity says:

    Am still confused help me am going there or coming there

  • Charity says:

    Thank making me understand coz I was confused coming and going

  • Clark says:

    In general, you “come here” and “go there”.

    “Coming to the party” implies: 1) the party is at the speaker’s location or 2) the speaker will be there.
    “Going to the party” implies: 1) the party is at a distance from the speaker or 2) the speaker is not attending the party or is not sure they are attending the party.

    “Go/come to France” is more clear cut: with “go” the speaker is outside of France, with “come” the speaker is in France.

    Same with the restaurant example. However, “going with” and “coming with” mean the same thing: to accompany.

  • Diane says:

    Hmm-help plz.
    He/ They live in Asia and they are Coming to America. He would say..
    We are Coming to America. This is because I am here -in America. Correct? Thx