Phrasal verb
come over
Definition
phrasal verb. to visit someone at their house for a short time.
phrasal verb. to move from one place to another, specifically to a person's residence, for a casual social visit.
Examples
“Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?”
“My neighbor came over to borrow some sugar and stayed for a quick chat.”
“Several colleagues from the research department decided to come over after the conference to discuss the findings in a more relaxed setting.”
Examples
simple
“Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?”
contextual
“My neighbor came over to borrow some sugar and stayed for a quick chat.”
complex
“Several colleagues from the research department decided to come over after the conference to discuss the findings in a more relaxed setting.”
Usage
usually implies the speaker is at the destination or lives there.
Teaching tip
contrast with 'go over' (used when the speaker is not at the destination) to help students understand the deictic nature of 'come' versus 'go'.
Pitfall
He came over my house.
He came over to my house.
when specifying the destination, use 'to' after 'come over', though 'come over' alone is often sufficient.
Phrasal verb
Particles
over
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
come + over (+ to + place)
Synonyms
Antonyms
Related words
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/come-over