Come or go?

Question

One of my grammar books say,"We use come for movement to the place where the speaker or hearer is.""We use go for movements to other places."I cannot undestand why the three below sentences use 'go', instead of come!1. My cousin has asked me to go over to his flat this evening.(from a phrasal verbs study book)2. Manfred rang up and asked me to go round to see him. (from a phrasal verbs dictionary, go over : 'to visit sb for a short time')3. Mr steinberg had often invited me to go over and stays(from a phrasal verbs dictionary, go round : 'to visit sb for a short time')Furthermore, some similar sentences (from dictionaries) use come, which I think as the correct use, hence more complexityHe wanted me to come over for lunch.I could come round this evening if you like.We'd like you to come and visit us.

Silak12 · Accepted Answer

Hi!

contraposition1. My cousin has asked me to come over to his flat this evening.
(from a phrasal verbs study book)
2. Manfred rang up and asked me to come round to see him.
(from a phrasal verbs dictionary, go over : 'to visit sb for a short time')
3. Mr steinberg had often invited me to come over and stays
(from a phrasal verbs dictionary, go round : 'to visit sb for a short time')

Do not use go over,go round in commands ,suggestions and requests.
Always stick to these points while using it.

contraposition"We use come for movement to the place where the speaker or hearer is."
"We use go for movements to other places."

Thanks!

CalifJim · Answer

"go", "come", "bring", and "take" are all a source of great confusion, even to some of us native speakers.
If the subject is neither the speaker nor the person spoken to, the choice is often dependent upon the thoughts in the mind of the speaker, more specifically, the speaker's point of view at the moment he utters the words.

My cousin has asked me to go over to his flat this evening. < Speaker takes his own point of view.
My cousin has asked me to come over to his flat this evening. <Speaker takes his cousin's point of view.

Manfred rang up and asked me to go round to see him. < Speaker takes his own point of view.
Manfred rang up and asked me to come round to see him. <Speaker takes Manfred's point of view.

Mr. Steinberg had often invited me to go over. < Speaker takes his own point of view.
Mr. Steinberg had often invited me to come over. <Speaker takes Mr. Steinberg's point of view.

He wanted me to go over for lunch. < Speaker takes his own point of view.
He wanted me to come over for lunch. < Speaker takes "his" (the subject's) point of view.
_____________

First person subjects can act differently. There are cases where either "go" or "come" is not possible.

I could go round this evening if you like. < go to a place that is not where you will be
I could come round this evening if you like. < come to where you will be

We'd like you to go and visit us. <impossible because you can't visit people at a place where they will not be
We'd like you to come and visit us. < come to where we will be

CJ

Come or go?

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