Came vs. Come — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Urooj Arif — Updated on April 5, 2024
Came is the past tense of come, indicating movement to the speaker's location in the past, while come is the present tense used for current or future reference.
Difference Between Came and Come
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Key Differences
Came is used to describe an action of moving towards the speaker or a specific location that happened at a specific point in the past. It implies that the action is completed. Whereas, come is used for actions that are happening in the present or expected to happen in the future, indicating movement towards the speaker or a location.
Came sets a scene in the past, giving narratives a historical context or recounting events that have already occurred. This makes it essential for storytelling or discussing past events. On the other hand, come brings the listener or reader into the current moment or anticipates future events, often creating a sense of immediacy or expectation.
In written and spoken English, came can convey a sense of completion or finality to an action or series of actions, suggesting that whatever movement was happening has now concluded. Come, conversely, suggests ongoing action or movement that has not yet been completed, often inviting further engagement or action from the listener or reader.
The choice between came and come can also impact the mood or tone of a sentence. Came might evoke nostalgia or reflection, as it places the listener or reader in a moment that has passed. Whereas come can foster a sense of anticipation or urgency, emphasizing actions or events that are occurring now or about to occur.
Understanding the correct usage of came and come is crucial for clear communication. Using came incorrectly can confuse the timeline of events, making it seem like something happened in the past when it is ongoing or planned for the future. Conversely, misusing come can mistakenly imply current or future action when describing something that has already happened.
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Comparison Chart
Tense
Past
Present and Future
Usage
Describes movement to a location that has already occurred.
Indicates movement towards a location that is happening now or will happen.
Temporal Context
Historical, past events
Current events or future expectations
Connotation
Often evokes a sense of completion or reflection.
Suggests ongoing action or anticipation.
Narrative Impact
Gives a sense of finality and conclusiveness to actions.
Creates immediacy, inviting further engagement or anticipation.
Compare with Definitions
Came
Indicates participation in an event or activity in the past.
He came to understand the truth eventually.
Come
Present tense of come, indicating movement towards the speaker or a location now or in the future.
Come to the meeting tomorrow.
Came
Refers to reaching a certain state or condition previously.
They came to an agreement after lengthy discussions.
Come
Suggests approaching or reaching a point in time or process.
The time has come to make a decision.
Came
Past tense of come, indicating past movement towards the speaker or a location.
She came to the party late last night.
Come
Expresses the occurrence of an event or condition in the present or future.
Good things come to those who wait.
Came
Used to describe the arrival of a person or thing in the past.
The rain came down hard yesterday evening.
Come
Implies being brought or taken to a particular place or situation.
The issue will come to light soon.
Came
Conveys the completion of coming to a specific point.
The time finally came for us to leave.
Come
Used to request or invite someone to join or participate.
Come watch the game with us tonight.
Came
A came is a divider bar used between small pieces of glass to make a larger glazing panel. There are two kinds of came: the H-shaped sections that hold two pieces together and the U-shaped sections that are used for the borders.
Come
Move or travel towards or into a place thought of as near or familiar to the speaker
Jess came into the kitchen
He came rushing out
I came here on holiday with my parents
Came
A slender grooved lead bar used to hold together the panes in stained glass or latticework windows.
Come
Occur; happen; take place
His father waited for a phone call that never came
Twilight had not yet come
A chance like this doesn't come along every day
Came
Past tense of come.
Come
Take or occupy a specified position in space, order, or priority
Prisons come well down the list of priorities
I make sure my kids come first
Came
Past participle of come
Come
Pass into a specified state, especially one of separation or disunion
His shirt had come undone
Came
Used to indicate that the following event, period, or change in state occurred in the past, after a time of waiting, enduring, or anticipation
Come
Be sold, available, or found in a specified form
The shirts come in three sizes
The cars come with a variety of extras
Came
A grooved strip of lead used to hold panes of glass together.
Come
Have an orgasm.
Came
A slender rod of cast lead, with or without grooves, used, in casements and stained-glass windows, to hold together the panes or pieces of glass.
Come
When a specified time is reached or event happens
I don't think that they'll be far away from honours come the new season
Come
Semen ejaculated at an orgasm.
Come
To advance toward the speaker or toward a specified place; approach
Come to me.
Come
To advance in a specified manner
The children came reluctantly when I insisted.
Come
To make progress; advance
A former drug addict who has come a long way.
Come
To fare
How are things coming today? They're coming fine.
Come
To reach a particular point in a series or as a result of orderly progression
At last we came to the chapter on ergonomics.
Come
To arrive, as in due course
Dawn comes at 5 AM in June.
Come
To move into view; appear
The moon came over the horizon.
Come
To occur in time; take place
The game will be played tomorrow, come rain or shine.
Come
To arrive at a particular result or end
Come to an understanding.
Come
To arrive at or reach a particular state or condition
Come to your senses!.
Come
To move or be brought to a particular position
The convoy came to an abrupt halt.
Come
To extend; reach
Water that came to my waist.
Come
To have priority; rank
My work comes first.
Come
To happen as a result
This mess comes of your carelessness.
Come
To fall to one
No good can come of this.
Come
To occur in the mind
A good idea just came to me.
Come
To issue forth
A cry came from the frightened child.
Come
To be derived; originate
Oaks come from acorns.
Come
To be descended
They come from a good family.
Come
To be within a given range or spectrum of reference or application
This stipulation comes within the terms of your contract.
Come
To be a native or resident
My friend comes from Chicago.
Come
To add up to a certain amount
Expenses came to more than income.
Come
To become
The knot came loose. This is a dream that has come true.
Come
To turn out to be
A good education doesn't come cheap.
Come
To be available or obtainable
Shoes that come in all sizes.
Come
Vulgar Slang To experience orgasm.
Come
Semen ejaculated during orgasm.
Come
(intransitive) To move from further away to nearer to.
She’ll be coming ’round the mountain when she comes...
Come
To move towards the speaker.
I called the dog, but she wouldn't come.
Stop dawdling and come here!
Come
To move towards the listener.
Hold on, I'll come in a second.
You should ask the doctor to come to your house.
Come
To move towards the object that is the focus of the sentence.
No-one can find Bertie Wooster when his aunts come to visit.
Hundreds of thousands of people come to Disneyland every year.
Come
(in subordinate clauses and gerunds) To move towards the agent or subject of the main clause.
King Cnut couldn't stop the tide coming.
He threw the boomerang, which came right back to him.
Come
To move towards an unstated agent.
The butler should come when called.
Come
(intransitive) To arrive.
Come
(intransitive) To appear, to manifest itself.
The pain in his leg comes and goes.
Come
(with an infinitive) To begin to have an opinion or feeling.
We came to believe that he was not so innocent after all.
She came to think of that country as her home.
Come
(with an infinitive) To do something by chance, without intending to do it.
Could you tell me how the document came to be discovered?
Come
(intransitive) To take a position relative to something else in a sequence.
Which letter comes before Y?
Winter comes after autumn.
Come
To achieve orgasm; to cum; to ejaculate.
He came after a few minutes.
Come
To become butter by being churned.
Come
To approach a state of being or accomplishment.
They came very close to leaving on time.
His test scores came close to perfect.
One of the screws came loose, and the skateboard fell apart.
Come
To take a particular approach or point of view in regard to something.
He came to SF literature a confirmed technophile, and nothing made him happier than to read a manuscript thick with imaginary gizmos and whatzits.
Come
To become, to turn out to be.
He was a dream come true.
Come
(intransitive) To be supplied, or made available; to exist.
He's as tough as they come.
Our milkshakes come in vanilla, strawberry and chocolate flavours.
A new sports car doesn't come cheap.
Come
(slang) To carry through; to succeed in.
You can't come any tricks here.
Come
(intransitive) Happen.
This kind of accident comes when you are careless.
Come
To have as an origin, originate.
Come
To have a certain social background.
Come
To be or have been a resident or native.
Where did you come from?
Come
To have been brought up by or employed by.
She comes from a good family.
He comes from a disreputable legal firm.
Come
To begin (at a certain location); to radiate or stem (from).
The river comes from Bear Lake.
Where does this road come from?
Come
To germinate.
Come
To pretend to be; to behave in the manner of.
Don’t come the innocent victim. We all know who’s to blame here.
Come
(obsolete) Coming, arrival; approach.
Come
Semen
Come
Female ejaculatory discharge.
Come
Senseid|en|typography}} {{alternative form of commain its medieval use as a middot ⟨·⟩ serving as a form of colon.
Come
Used to indicate a point in time at or after which a stated event or situation occurs.
Leave it to settle for about three months and, come Christmas time, you'll have a delicious concoction to offer your guests.
Come retirement, their Social Security may turn out to be a lot less than they counted on.
Come summer, we would all head off to the coast.
Come
An exclamation to express annoyance.
Come come! Stop crying.
Come now! You must eat it.
Come
An exclamation to express encouragement, or to precede a request.
Come come! You can do it.
Come now! It won't bite you.
Come
To move hitherward; to draw near; to approach the speaker, or some place or person indicated; - opposed to go.
Look, who comes yonder?
I did not come to curse thee.
Come
To complete a movement toward a place; to arrive.
When we came to Rome.
Lately come from Italy.
Come
To approach or arrive, as if by a journey or from a distance.
The hour is coming, and now is.
So quick bright things come to confusion.
Come
To approach or arrive, as the result of a cause, or of the act of another.
From whence come wars?
Both riches and honor come of thee !
Come
To arrive in sight; to be manifest; to appear.
Then butter does refuse to come.
Come
To get to be, as the result of change or progress; - with a predicate; as, to come untied.
How come you thus estranged?
How come her eyes so bright?
Think not that I am come to destroy.
We are come off like Romans.
The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year.
They were criedIn meeting, come next Sunday.
On better thoughts, and my urged reasons,They are come about, and won to the true side.
Come
To carry through; to succeed in; as, you can't come any tricks here.
Come
Coming.
Come
Move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody;
He came singing down the road
Come with me to the Casbah
Come down here!
Come out of the closet!
Come into the room
Come
Reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress;
She arrived home at 7 o'clock
She didn't get to Chicago until after midnight
Come
Come to pass; arrive, as in due course;
The first success came three days later
It came as a shock
Dawn comes early in June
Come
Reach a state, relation, or condition;
The water came to a boil
We came to understand the true meaning of life
Their anger came to a boil
I came to realize the true meaning of life
Come
To be the product or result;
Melons come from a vine
Understanding comes from experience
Come
Enter or assume a condition, relation, use, or position;
He came into contact with a terrorist group
The shoes came untied
I came to see his point of view
Her face went red with anger
The knot came loose
Your wish will come true
Come
Be found or available;
These shoes come in three colors; The furniture comes unassembled
Come
Come forth;
A scream came from the woman's mouth
His breath came hard
Come
Be a native of;
She hails from Kalamazoo
Come
Extend or reach;
The water came up to my waist
The sleeves come to your knuckles
Come
Exist or occur in a certain point in a series;
Next came the student from France
Come
Come from; be connected by a relationship of blood, for example;
She was descended from an old Italian noble family
He comes from humble origins
Come
Cover a certain distance;
She came a long way
Come
Come under, be classified or included;
Fall into a category
This comes under a new heading
Come
Happen as a result;
Nothing good will come of this
Come
Add up in number or quantity;
The bills amounted to $2,000
The bill came to $2,000
Come
Develop into;
This idea will never amount to anything
Nothing came of his grandiose plans
Come
Be received;
News came in of the massacre in Rwanda
Come
Come to one's mind; suggest itself;
It occurred to me that we should hire another secretary
A great idea then came to her
Come
Proceed or get along;
How is she doing in her new job?
How are you making out in graduate school?
He's come a long way
Come
Experience orgasm;
She could not come because she was too upset
Come
Have a certain priority;
My family comes first
Common Curiosities
Is it correct to say "I come to the party yesterday"?
No, it should be "I came to the party yesterday" for past events.
How does the use of came and come affect the tone of a sentence?
Came can evoke nostalgia or reflection for past events, while come can create anticipation or urgency for current or future actions.
Can came and come be used interchangeably?
No, because they belong to different tenses and refer to different time frames.
Can come be used for past events?
No, come is used for present or future events, not past.
What is a common mistake when using came and come?
A common mistake is using come when referring to past events, instead of came.
What is the main difference between came and come?
Came is the past tense of come, used for past actions, while come is used for present or future actions.
What does "come to terms with" mean?
It means to gradually accept a difficult or unpleasant situation.
Can came be used without specifying a time frame?
Yes, but the context should clearly indicate a past event.
How does context affect the choice between came and come?
The temporal context (past, present, future) determines the appropriate choice between came and come.
Can come indicate an ongoing action?
Yes, come can suggest an action that is currently happening or continuous.
How do come and came contribute to storytelling?
Came helps recount past events, while come can introduce current events or build anticipation for future events.
What does "come of age" mean?
It refers to reaching adulthood or maturity.
Is it grammatically correct to use "come" for invitations?
Yes, using come for invitations is grammatically correct and common.
Does changing came to come alter the timeline of a narrative?
Yes, it shifts the narrative from past to present or future.
How can understanding came and come improve communication?
It enhances clarity by correctly conveying when actions or events occur, avoiding temporal confusion.
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Written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
