Phrasal Verbs with Go and Come
GO and COME phrasal verbs form the foundation of expressing movement, direction, and progress in English, creating essential combinations that describe everything from physical movement to abstract processes and life experiences. These directional verbs combine with particles to express complex ideas about progression, arrival, departure, and transformation that are fundamental to natural English communication.
Understanding the directional nature of GO and COME phrasal verbs enables you to express movement away from and towards reference points with the precision and naturalness that characterises native speaker communication. GO typically suggests movement away from the speaker or current position, whilst COME suggests movement towards the speaker or a reference point, creating logical patterns that help with comprehension and usage.
These verb combinations extend far beyond simple physical movement to encompass abstract concepts like going through experiences, coming across information, going ahead with plans, and coming up with ideas. This versatility makes them indispensable for discussing processes, discoveries, decisions, and creative thinking in both casual conversation and professional contexts.
Mastering GO and COME phrasal verbs will enhance your ability to describe movement and progression with natural fluency, enabling you to discuss everything from daily travel and physical activities to complex business processes and personal experiences using the authentic language patterns that native speakers employ instinctively across all communication contexts.
GO Phrasal Verbs
Physical Movement and Direction
Basic Movement:
- go up - move to higher level
"Go up the stairs to the second floor." - go down - move to lower level
"The lift is going down to the basement." - go in/into - enter a place
"Shall we go into the museum now?" - go out - exit/leave for entertainment
"We're going out for dinner tonight."
Departure and Travel:
- go away - leave/depart
"We're going away on holiday next week." - go back - return to previous location
"I need to go back home to get my wallet." - go off - leave/depart (also malfunction)
"The alarm went off at 6am this morning." - go on - continue journey
"After lunch, we went on to the next city."
Progress and Processes
Experiences and Difficulties:
- go through - experience/endure
"She's going through a difficult time." - go over - review/examine
"Let's go over the report once more." - go without - manage without something
"We'll have to go without heating tonight." - go under - fail/collapse
"The company went under during the recession."
Continuation and Progress:
- go on - continue
"Please go on with your presentation." - go ahead - proceed/continue
"Go ahead and start without me." - go along with - agree/support
"I'll go along with your decision." - go forward - make progress
"We need to go forward with this plan."
Activities and States
Activities and Events:
- go for - choose/attempt
"I think I'll go for the chicken tonight." - go in for - participate in/be interested in
"She doesn't go in for extreme sports." - go about - approach a task
"How should we go about solving this?" - go by - pass/be guided by
"Time goes by so quickly when you're busy."
Changes and Transformations:
- go wrong - fail/make mistakes
"Something went wrong with the computer." - go bad - spoil/deteriorate
"The milk has gone bad in this heat." - go well - succeed/progress positively
"The meeting went well yesterday." - go missing - disappear/be lost
"My keys have gone missing again."
COME Phrasal Verbs
Physical Movement and Arrival
Directional Movement:
- come in - enter
"Please come in and sit down." - come out - exit/emerge
"The sun came out after the rain." - come up - move to higher level/approach
"Come up to my office when you're ready." - come down - descend
"Can you come down to the kitchen?"
Return and Arrival:
- come back - return
"What time will you come back home?" - come over - visit
"Would you like to come over for dinner?" - come round/around - visit casually
"I'll come round to see you tomorrow." - come along - accompany/make progress
"Come along with us to the cinema."
Discovery and Appearance
Finding and Discovery:
- come across - find by chance
"I came across this old photo yesterday." - come upon - discover unexpectedly
"We came upon a beautiful village." - come to light - be revealed
"New evidence came to light today." - come up - arise/be mentioned
"This issue came up in the meeting."
Ideas and Solutions:
- come up with - think of/produce
"Can you come up with a better idea?" - come to mind - occur to someone
"Several solutions come to mind." - come about - happen/occur
"How did this situation come about?" - come through - succeed/survive
"She came through the operation well."
Changes and Development
States and Conditions:
- come true - be realised
"All her dreams came true eventually." - come alive - become lively
"The city comes alive at night." - come apart - separate/break
"The old book came apart in my hands." - come together - unite/assemble
"The community came together in crisis."
Recovery and Consciousness:
- come to - regain consciousness
"He came to after a few minutes." - come round - change opinion/recover
"She'll come round to our way of thinking." - come on - improve/progress
"Her English is really coming on well." - come along - make progress
"How's your project coming along?"
Common Mistakes to Avoid
✗ "I came across with this book yesterday."
✓ "I came across this book yesterday."
"Come across" doesn't need "with" - it's already complete
✗ "Can you come up with to a solution?"
✓ "Can you come up with a solution?"
"Come up with" doesn't need "to" before the object
✗ "I'm going through to a difficult time."
✓ "I'm going through a difficult time."
"Go through" (experience) doesn't need "to"
✗ "Let's go ahead with to the plan."
✓ "Let's go ahead with the plan."
Don't add extra prepositions to complete phrasal verbs
✗ "The issue came up in the meeting up."
✓ "The issue came up in the meeting."
Don't repeat particles unnecessarily
GO vs COME: Directional Logic
GO - Movement Away:
- From speaker's perspective:
"I'll go to the shop (away from here)" - Away from reference point:
"Go out of the room (leave this space)" - Forward movement/progress:
"Go ahead with the plan (move forward)" - Into experiences:
"Go through difficulties (enter experience)"
COME - Movement Towards:
- Towards speaker:
"Come to my house (towards me/here)" - Towards reference point:
"Come into the room (enter this space)" - Emerging/appearing:
"Come out of hiding (emerge, appear)" - Into existence:
"Come up with ideas (bring into existence)"
Separability Guide: GO and COME
Mostly Inseparable:
GO and COME phrasal verbs are typically inseparable
- go through - Go through it (never "go it through")
- come across - Come across them
- go along with - Go along with it
- come up with - Come up with it
- go in for - Go in for it
- come down with - Come down with it
Rare Separable Examples:
Very few GO/COME phrasal verbs can separate
- go over - Go over it / Go it over (rare)
- Most are fixed: You cannot separate them
- Test with pronouns: If it sounds wrong, don't separate
- When in doubt: Keep them together
- Three-word combinations: Always inseparable
- Safety rule: Treat GO/COME phrasal verbs as inseparable
Multiple Meanings: Context Matters
GO ON - Multiple Uses:
- Continue: "Please go on with your story."
- Happen: "What's going on here?"
- Talk excessively: "She goes on and on about work."
- Proceed to next place: "We went on to Paris after London."
- Switch on: "The lights go on at dusk."
COME UP - Multiple Uses:
- Arise/be mentioned: "The issue came up in the meeting."
- Approach: "A stranger came up to me."
- Move to higher level: "Come up to the third floor."
- Appear/emerge: "Flowers are coming up in the garden."
- Be available: "A job came up at the bank."
Context Clues:
Time context: "How long has this been going on? (happening)"
Location context: "Come up to my office (move upward)"
Discussion context: "This topic came up (was mentioned)"
Problem context: "Something's going on (happening/wrong)"
Formality and Register
Informal/Conversational:
- go out (socialise)
- come over (visit casually)
- come on (encouragement)
- go off (alarm sound)
- come round (visit)
- go wrong
Neutral/Professional:
- go through (experience)
- come up with (create)
- go ahead (proceed)
- come across (find)
- go over (review)
- come about (happen)
More Formal:
- come to light (be revealed)
- go about (approach task)
- come to pass (occur)
- go forward (proceed)
- come forth (emerge)
- go without saying
GO and COME Phrasal Verbs Across Tenses
GO Examples:
COME Examples:
Advanced Usage Patterns
GO + Adjective Patterns:
- go wrong, go bad, go missing: Change to negative state
- go well, go smoothly: Proceed successfully
- go crazy, go wild: Become extreme or uncontrolled
- go quiet, go silent: Become quiet suddenly
COME + Adjective Patterns:
- come true, come alive: Become real or animated
- come clean, come forward: Be honest or volunteer
- come loose, come apart: Become separated
- come natural, come easy: Be instinctive or effortless
Fixed Expressions:
- "Here we go" - Starting something (often with anticipation)
- "There you go" - That's right/exactly what I mean
- "Come to think of it" - Now that I consider it
- "How come?" - Why? (informal)
Essential GO and COME Combinations
Top GO phrasal verbs:
Top COME phrasal verbs:
Learning Strategy Tips
Memory techniques:
- Directional logic: GO = away, COME = towards
- Physical gestures: Point away for GO, towards for COME
- Story chains: "I go out, come back, go up, come down"
- Opposite pairs: go out/come in, go up/come down
Practice methods:
- Daily routines: Describe movement throughout your day
- Problem-solving: "Come up with solutions"
- Experience sharing: "Go through challenges"
- Future planning: "Go ahead with plans"