Irregular verb
The verb to come
come → came → come
A1Meaning: to move towards the speaker; to arrive somewhere · Type: irregular · Frequency: Top 10 English verbs
Key points to remember
- Present Simple:
I/you/we/they come·he/she/it comes - Past Simple:
came - Past participle:
come(the same as the base form!) - -ing form:
coming(without the final e)
Conjugation of the verb to come
Present Simple
| I | come |
| You | come |
| He / She / It | comes |
| We | come |
| You (pl.) | come |
| They | come |
Present Perfect
| I | have come | I've come |
| You | have come | You've come |
| He / She / It | has come | He's / She's / It's come |
| We | have come | We've come |
| You (pl.) | have come | You've come |
| They | have come | They've come |
All the forms of the verb to come
Present Simple
Full pagecome / comes
“I come from France.”
See the pagePresent Continuous
Full pageam / is / are coming
“I am coming home right now.”
See the pagePast Simple
Full pagecame
“She came to my party last weekend.”
See the pagePast Continuous
Full pagewas / were coming
“I was coming home when the phone rang.”
See the pagePresent Perfect
Full pagehave / has come
“She has come back from her trip.”
See the pagePast Perfect
Full pagehad come
“She had already come home when I arrived.”
See the pageFuture Simple
Full pagewill come
“I will come home tomorrow.”
See the pageGoing to Future
Full pageam / is / are going to come
“I'm going to come home this weekend.”
See the pageConditional (would)
Full pagewould come
“I would come home if I had time.”
See the pageHow to use to come
1. Moving towards the speaker
Use come when someone moves towards you, or towards the place where you are.
- Come here, please.
- I'm coming!
- She came to my house yesterday.
2. Saying where you are from
Come from + place tells people where you are from.
- I come from France.
- Where do you come from?
3. Common expressions with come
Some expressions with come have their own meaning. Come on! means hurry up, or you can do it. Come true means to really happen, like a dream. Come along means to go somewhere with someone, or to make progress.
- come on!
- come true
- come along
4. Phrasal verbs with come
Come back means to return, come in means to enter, come out means to leave a place or to appear (a new book or film) and come up with means to think of an idea.
- come back
- come in
- come out
- come up with
Common mistakes to avoid
1. I'm going! (when someone calls you) ❌
Come = to move towards the speaker. Go = to move away from the speaker. When your mum calls you for dinner, answer I'm coming!: you are moving towards her. I'm going means you are leaving for another place.
2. I have came back ❌
Come has a special past participle: come → came → come. The past participle is the same as the base form. Say I have come back, never I have came back.
3. Come on! = come onto something ❌
Come on! is an expression. It can mean hurry up or you can do it: Come on, we're late! It can also mean I don't believe you: Oh, come on, that isn't true! It has nothing to do with the word on.
Going further
Conjugating to come is a key skill in the English contest
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Frequently asked questions
What is the past simple of come?+
The Past Simple of come is came. It is the same for every person: I came, she came, they came. The past participle is come, the same as the base form. Come → came → come.
Is it have came or have come?+
Say have come. Come is a special irregular verb: its past participle is come, the same as the base form (the verb with no ending). So say I have come back, never I have came back. Become (became, become) and run (ran, run) work the same way.
What is the difference between come and go?+
Come means to move towards the speaker, or towards the person you are talking to. Go means to move away, to another place. When someone calls you for dinner, answer I'm coming!, not I'm going! When you talk to the person who is having a party, say I'm coming to your party.
How do you say where you are from in English?+
Say I come from Spain or I'm from Spain, in the Present Simple. Where you are from does not change, so English uses the Present Simple, not the Present Continuous. To ask the question: Where do you come from?
What are the most common phrasal verbs with come?+
Come back (to return), come in (to enter), come out (to leave a place, or to appear, like a new book or film), come up with (to think of an idea), come along (to go somewhere with someone, or to make progress) and come over (to visit someone at home). You hear them all the time in spoken English.
Updated on 12 November 2026 by the Big Challenge teaching team. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999. Our teaching approach →
The Big Challenge · Updated on 12 November 2026 · Source: www.thebigchallenge.com/bl/academy/learn-english/verbs/come
© The Big Challenge. Copying allowed for classroom use. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999.