How come?


We will talk about the word "come". We use this word a lot - rain or shine. We don't know how this comes about but we do. And we will use it 'till kingdom come'. So, let us look at some examples:

To come (คัม - with a soft sounding 'มื' at end) = to move forward/near/close; to arrive

They come aboard = They get on a boat/bus/car/plane. = They join a team/company.
(We often hear 'welcome aboard' = 'I welcome you to 'come aboard'/'come onboard'.

[Something] comes about = [Something] happens/has happened.

I came across Lucy at the shop. = I met/ran into Lucy at the shop.
It comes across wrong. = It comes over badly. = It looks bad. = It turn out wrong.
It didn't come across clearly. = It was not understood.

A rain comes after the storm. = A rain follows the storm. = It rains as a result of a storm.

That man comes again. = That man is here again. = That man does/wins [something] again.
Come again. = Please repeat. = Say it again.

Then it came alive. = Then it woke/rose up.
The car comes alive. = The car starts. The car runs very well.


Come along. = Follow [me/someone/something].
Until TV comes along. = Until TV appears/is invented.
My mango trees come along well. = my mango trees develop/progress well.
[You've come a long way. = You have done many things. You have travelled far.

come apart = break (off (into parts))
come around/round = change position/opinion; happen again (repeatedly)/occur again/recur
come at [somebody]
He came at me/[somebody]. = He came to me (with an intention). = He confronted me/[somebody].

A wing has come away = A wing has broken off.

Come back to me. = Come to me. = Return to me.
She was away then she came back. = She was away then she returned. = She's home again.
The team came back. = The team returned to form. = The team played well again.


We come before/after [somebody/something] = We rank before/after [somebody/something].
Storms come before rains. Rains come after storms.
The man comes before the judge/court/king. = The man appears in front of the judge/...


come between = 'be in the way of'/obstruct two people/parties
Another woman comes between husband and wife.

come by = visit/happen/get unexpectedly;

come clean = admit
come close = be near or close; nearly do [something]
come down = move downward/fall (down); come down with a flu = be sick with influenza
come forth = come out/emrrge from ... as a result of
come forward = show {oneself]/make [one] visible; take action/a step forward
come home = return/arrive home ; 'get the message'/understand; become conscious (of oneself)
come in = enter/come into/become
come into = enter

come off = come away/detach/break off; Come off it! = Stop that!
(go off = spoil/lose control (of oneself)... The milk went/was off. = The milk went bad/sour.)
come on = move forward; show up/come up/become available; start/go on/get going
Come on! = Let's go/start/get going! (= cheer/egg on/urge to do [something])

come out = show up/rise up/pop up/appear; become available/known/come ou of the closet/come out of hiding/reveal/disclose/let out; result at end; He came out (that he is gay).

come round; come around
come through [something/someplace] = get/go through [something/someplace]; We came through town.
We came through the bureaucracy and could talk to the Minister.
She came through a bad illness/problem. = She lived through/survived a bad illness.
We came through a recession. = We succeeded even in a recession.

An idea came to me = I (suddenly) had an idea. = An idea struck/hit me.
What's the world coming to? = What is happening to the world? = Why this happened?
6 plus 4 comes to 10. = 6 plus 4 equals 10. = 6 + 4 gives/makes 10.

Make our wish come true. = Give us what we want. = Make it happen.

The water comes up. = The water rises (up).
He came up with another way. = He had another idea.
Unless [someone/something] comes up. = Unless we have another choice.


how come? = Why?
time to come = future (yet to come)
come and go; The police come and go as they please.
come hell and high water = whatever obstacle/difficulty
come on strong = seem forcefully
first come first served = (first in first out - FIFO)
whatever may come = whatever will be


till the cows come home = till the end (of a day) = very long time to wait


This is a long post because we use 'come' a lot. There are still more examples I have not shown here. Perhaps you can help me here. We share our words = We share our learning ;-)

I will talk about 'patterns' next. Many readers may have already see some 'patterns' in examples so far. The phrases are made of a [common verb] and another [common word] or a [preposition =: {at, in, on, up, down,...} ].

Till next time ;-)