come/go?

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Shine - 30 Sep 2007 15:54 GMT

<quote>
Last month Gary was in hospital for an operation. Liz didn't know
this, so she didn't go to visit him. They met a few days ago. Liz
said: If I had known you were in hospital, I would have *gone* to
visit you.
</quote>

Raymond Murphy, English Grammar in Use, 2nd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1994), p. 78.

The verb 'come' sounds more natural to me in the above example
sentence. However, if the conversation were between Liz and someone
other than Gary, I would have no problem with Liz using the verb 'go'
instead of 'come'. What do you think?

Google disagrees with me:
1. "I would have gone to visit you" (3,950 hits)
2. "I would have come to visit you" (2,700 hits)

Thanks
Shine

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the Omrud - 30 Sep 2007 16:06 GMT

shineraju@gmail.com had it ...

> <quote>
> Last month Gary was in hospital for an operation. Liz didn't know
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> 1. "I would have gone to visit you" (3,950 hits)
> 2. "I would have come to visit you" (2,700 hits)

You can't use Google for this because it depends where Liz is when
she speaks that sentence. If she's in the hospital, then "come" is
right. If she's somewhere else - if Gary has left the hospital
before she speaks the sentence - then either "gone" or "come" is OK.

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David

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cybercypher - 30 Sep 2007 16:56 GMT

the Omrud <usenet.omrud@gmail.com> wrote

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Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor
Native speaker of American English; posting from Taiwan.
"It has come to my attention that my opinions are not universally
shared." Scott Adams.

> shineraju@gmail.com had it ...
>
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
> before she speaks the sentence - then either "gone" or "come" is
> OK.

It appears that she and Gary met after he'd been discharged from the
hospital. Being perfectly logical, it has to be "go", but being
perfectly idiomatic, it can be either, I agree.

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Mark Brader - 30 Sep 2007 17:45 GMT

"Shine" asks about:

> > ... If I had known you were in hospital, I would have *gone* to
> > visit you.

"David" writes:

> ... it depends where Liz is when
> she speaks that sentence. If she's in the hospital, then "come" is
> right. If she's somewhere else - if Gary has left the hospital
> before she speaks the sentence - then either "gone" or "come" is OK.

No, it depends on where Liz is *thinking about being*.

Other verb pairs that work like come/go include bring/take and
immigrate/emigrate.

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Mark Brader "The best you can write will be the best you are.
Toronto Every sentence is the result of a long probation."
msb@vex.net -- Henry David Thoreau, 1841

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / September 2007

come/go?