Come about = to explain how something unplanned happened
e.g. Can you tell me how this accident came about?
Come across = to meet someone or discover something by chance
e.g. I came across this old typewriter when I was cleaning the attic.
Come across = to behave in a way which makes people think you have a particular characteristic
e.g. Because of his tone he came across as being bossy.
Come across = an idea/emotion that is expressed clearly
e.g. Her strong support for women’s rights came across in the film.
Come after someone = to chase/search someone to punish them
e.g. Our neighbour came after us when we kicked a ball through his window.
Come along = to go somewhere with someone
e.g. Do you want to come along with us?
Be coming along = to ask about someone’s progress
e.g. How are your Chinese lessons coming along?
Come apart = when something separates into pieces
e.g. My mobile phone came apart when it fell on the floor.
Come around = to visit someone
e.g. Come around for some tea when you have time.
Come around = to move around a group of people
e.g. The waitress came around offering us drinks.
Come around = to stop having a bad opinion after thinking about it for a long time
e.g. Initially I didn’t like the plan but I can around to it.
Come around = to regain consciousness
e.g. When I threw some water on his face he came around.
Come at someone = to move forward so as to attack someone
e.g. The dog came at the burglar as he was
trying to enter the house.
Come away with something = to leave a situation/place with a long lasting impression
e.g. I came away with the impression that Indra doesn’t like children much.
Come back = to return
e.g. I’ve just come back from Vietnam.
Come back = something becomes fashionable again
e.g. Pink shirts have come back into fashion.
Come back = to happen again
e.g. The pain in my leg has come back.
Come back = to remember
e.g. It’s all coming back to me now.
Come back to something = to start talking about a particular topic again
e.g. I’d like to come back to the subject of dinosaurs.
Come before = to be judged by a person/group in authority
e.g. His case will come before the court in a month.
Come between someone = to interfere with a relationship
e.g. Don’t let money come between you.
Come down = to pass from older to younger people
e.g. That story has come down from two generations.
Come down on someone = to strongly criticise/punish
e.g. The police are coming down hard on drug dealers.
Come down with something = to become ill
e.g. Punam came down with a cold.
Come forward = to offer to do something
e.g. The police asked the public to come forward with information about the robbery.
Come from = origin
e.g. These toys come from China.
Come in = to arrive
e.g. Jeff came in late last night.
Come in = received news
e.g. Reports have come in of a tsunami.
Come in = to start speaking
e.g. Can I come in at this point and tell you about the new developments?
Come into = to get money from someone who has died
e.g. Amarpreet came into a fortune when his uncle died.
Come of something = the result
e.g. What came out of your date with Patrick?
Come off something = to stop using medicine or drugs
e.g. He came off the antibiotics when he felt better.
Come on = to start speaking on the phone
e.g. My grandmother came on and wished me for my birthday.
Come out = to disappear
e.g. Do you think this oil stain will come out?
Come out = available to buy
e.g. Lady Gaga’s new album has come out.
Come out = a secret becomes publically known
e.g. It came out that Phil was involved in fraud.
Come out in something = a skin disease that appears
e.g. I came out in spots.
Come out with something = to say something suddenly
e.g. Daisy came out with it and said she stole the money.
Come out with = the launch of a new product
e.g. The toy company has come out with a new model.
Come over = to visit someone’s home
e.g. Bikal came over on Friday night.
Come through = to receive
e.g. Have your IELTS results come through yet?
Come up = to mention something
e.g. The topic of cheating came up several times.
Be coming up = an event will happen soon
e.g. Chinese New Year is coming up soon.
Come up against = to deal with a difficult situation
e.g. They came up against a lot of opposition.
Come up with something = to think of a plan/idea/solution
e.g. Don’t worry we’ll come up with something soon.
