5 Most Common Phrasal Verbs with “Come”

Level: Intermediate    Reading Time: 9 minutes    Category: Phrasal Verbs

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In this lesson:

• What does come along mean?
• How to use come out
• What does come down mean?
• How to use come up
• What does come across mean?

Come along

Meaning:

The first meaning for this phrasal verb is to talk about people arriving at place or event. It is also common to use this phrase to invite someone to go to an event or place with you.

Another meaning of this phrasal verb is to tell someone to hurry up and go with you quickly. It is a little old-fashioned and a bit posh but you will hear it from time to time.

Both of these meanings are inseparable phrasal verbs. They are also both intransitive. This means that an object is not needed in the sentence, and it can be used as a stand alone phrase.

Examples:

• Are you coming along to the party tonight?
• Do you want to come along?
• Lot’s of people came along to the wedding reception.
• Come along! We are going to be late!

Come Out

Meaning:

The first meaning I want to show you is to talk about information or products that were not known to the public are released. This is common for things like movies, books, records, reports, information and secrets.

Another meaning is to say that something is visible when it wasn’t before. Maybe it was hidden or it wasn’t possible due to the time of day. 

The above two meanings are intransitive, so no object is needed.

Finally, you can use this phrasal verb to talk about something being removed from another thing. Usually this is an unwanted action. This is often used with “of” and is transitive, meaning it needs an object to make sense.

All of these meanings are inseparable phrasal verbs.

Examples:

• When does the new Spiderman movie come out?
• The prime minister has been in trouble since all his secrets came out last week.
• The stars came out last night after the storm.
• The cost of the repair is coming out of your pay check!

Come Down

Meaning:

This phrasal verb has two meanings. The first one is to start getting sick. The word “with” is often used with this meaning.

We usually don’t use this for serious illnesses though. Things like colds or headaches are often used with this phrasal verb.

The other meaning is to punish someone harshly. This is often used with the preposition “on”. 

Both of these verbs are transitive, so an object is needed, but they are both inseparable.

Examples:

• I think I am coming down with a cold.
• Are you coming down with something? You look sick.
• My teacher came down hard on me because I forgot my homework.
• Don’t come down on her too hard, she is trying her best!

Come up

Meaning:

We use this phrasal verb to say that an unexpected event happened which caused your plans to change. It is usually used with the word something when we are not giving details about the event.

Another way we use come up is to talk about an event that will take place in the near future. This is common with games, exams, celebrations and holidays.

The first two meanings are intransitive.

Finally, when you need to generate an idea or a plan, you can use the phrasal verb ‘come up’. To come up with something means to think about or invent something. Usually the word with is required when using this meaning. This meaning is transitive so an object is needed.

All three uses of this phrasal verbs are inseparable. 

Examples:

• I’m sorry. I’m late. Something came up at work.
• My birthday is coming up next week! Don’t forget!
• We need to come up with a plan for next weekend.
• I couldn’t come up with any ideas. I’m sorry.

Come Across

Meaning:

The first meaning for this phrasal verb is to find someone or something by accident. It is often unexpected and happens while you were trying to do something else.

Another meaning is to talk about how someone appears to other people. We use it to describe what kind of person they are. This is commonly used with the expression “as + noun” or “as + adjective” 

Both of these are inseparable and transitive, meaning the object must go after the verb.

Examples:

• I came across this picture of us when I was cleaning my room.
• She came across a new TV show to watch while browsing Netflix.
• He comes across as a little rude, but actually, he is a nice guy.
• They came across as amateurs during the meeting.

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