Hi, my dear teachers,
I have a problem with using the phrasal verbs "come back" and "go back".
Cambridge Dictionary says about the meaning of come back:
"To return to a place."
And also says about the meaning of go back:
"To return."
It looks like they have the same meaning.
Please, look at these below sentences:
1. She came back her home.
2. She went back her home.
Now, here are my questions:
1. What is the difference between two above sentences?
2. In accordance with the above dictionary, are 'come back" and "go back" the same (come back = to return to a place, go back = to return)?
2. How can we understand where we should use "come back" and "go back"?
Thanks in advance and best wishes,
Replies
Dear Bet, everything is correct
I am going to America soon. I hope I will meet my friend there. And when I come to her place I would like to ask her to go to the park.....i sit okay with come and go?
or I am going to the nearest park right now. I hope I will see some summer flowers over there and when I come to the park I will be able to pluck some of them.
I went to the tailor's shop yesterday. When I came I saw nobody so I had to get back without having alternation.
Dear Danny,
Thanks to you and dear Tanya.
I got my answer with your beautiful examples very well.
Best wishes,
Dear Bijan, you see, all such COME/GO pairs mean the same. To COME/GO back means to return, to COME/GO out means to leave a room or a house, to COME/GO up means to move up or to near and so on. But we use COME and GO in different situations. It depends on the direction of movement. I will give you a few examples with COME/GO back.
1. I am at home and Tanya is somewhere out. I am calling her to ask when to expect her back. So, I will say "When will you come back?" because she will be moving toward me (I am a speaker in this example) and toward our home.
2. We both are at work. She is calling me to ask the same question. She will say:"When will you come back?" becuse we both will be moving to our home.
3. We both came out and got into the car. But she suddenly recalled she had forgotten her purse at home. She would tell me "Will you go back and bring my purse?" because she would stay in the car and I would be moving from her and from our car where we talked.
I realize, it is not so easy to understand, but if you ask more questions, you will get it sooner or later.
As to your examples, the first is correct although we rarely use the imperative mood asking people about something. It sounds like an order. But the second must be "Go back there" like in my example with the car
Bijan said:
Dear Tanya,
Thank you for explanation.
It is very kind of you answering my question.
We all know that a dictionary is not a grammar book, but why do "come back" and 'go back" have the same meaning (to return), please?
Examples:
1. Come back here, Tom ( return here, Tom).
2. Go back here, Tom (return here, Tom).
Thanks a lot and best wishes,
Dear Bijan, Danny always asks me to explain the hardest questions. Well, the question is not hard to explain, but I have no time now to write a paragraph from the grammar book. You see, the preposition is of no matter here, it may be UP, DOWN, OUT or any other. What really matters is how to use COME and GO. Both verbs define some kind of movement, but they mean different directions.
We use TO GO when we mean the movenment from a speaker or a placewhere we are or speak about. We use TO COME in the opposite case. I will start with the example, you will get for sure.
You are a teacher and now, you are in the classroom. One of your students gets on your nerves and bothers you. You tell him:"Go out!" Another situation: you are at home and you hear the voice of your friend from outside:"Come out!"
One more example. Two people are standing downstairs. One of them tells the other:"Go up". That man walked upstairs and told the other (who was on the first floor): "Come up!"
Have you got the idea?