When to use came or come?
If you’re confused about when to use ‘came’ or ‘come’—and vice versa—this post is for you. Like with all verbs, regular or not, the correct form will depend on what you’re trying to communicate, and whether you are describing something happening in the present, or has already occurred in the past.
I came home after midnight.
They have come to a unanimous decision.
Yesterday, he come to visit us.
We had came to the conclusion that it was too late.
Verb forms of came or come
The verb to come is understood as “to move toward something or somewhere”, particularly to a place where the speaker is physically located. It can also mean “to move or journey to a vicinity with a specified purpose,” “to arrive”, or “to reach a condition or conclusion.”
| present | past | future | |
| simple | I come | I came | I will come |
| continuous | I am coming | I was coming | I will be coming |
| perfect | I have came | I had came | I will have came |
| perfect continuous | I have been coming | I had been coming | I will have been coming |
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i. Come is in the present tense: I will come over later. |
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ii. Came is the simple past: I came to the park to look for my lost dog. |
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iii. Come is also the past participle: I had come to my senses by the next morning. |
What’s the past tense of come?
The simple past tense of come is came, while the past participle is come. The past participle ‘come‘ often follows the auxiliary verb had, which is the past tense of have. This helps differentiate between the past perfect, simple present, and present perfect tenses.
The past perfect tense refers to actions or events completed entirely in the past. The adjective ‘perfect’ comes from the Latin word, perficere, meaning “accomplish, finish, complete”. Typically, the past perfect is used to clarify the order in which events have occurred in a series or succession. The past perfect emphasizes the correct order in which past events took place.
Compare these sentences of came in the past tense vs. past participle:
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i. I came to the park to look for my lost dog. (past tense) |
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ii. They began treating her better, for they had come to realize how kind she was.(past participle) |
“Came or come” present & past sentence examples
| Word Form | Examples |
|---|---|
| Other | Will you come to my birthday party?
My neighbour comes over to my house every Friday. If worst comes to worst, we’ll go with plan B. She comes over when my brother isn’t home. Rainy days come and go. |
“come” vs. “came,” associate “came” with the past—it sounds like “am,” which implies a completed action.
Examples of the past tense came in sentences
| Word Form | Examples |
|---|---|
| Other | He only came to school one time!
They came just in time for the event. I came to a conclusion. She came in through the back door. We only came for the big sale. |
Word origin
From etymology online on come (v..):
From Old English cuman “to move with the purpose of reaching, or so as to reach, some point; to arrive by movement or progression;” also “move into view, appear, become perceptible; come to oneself, recover; arrive; assemble” … from Proto-Germanic kwem- (source also of Old Saxon cuman, Old Frisian kuma, Middle Dutch comen…), from PIE root gwa- “to go, come.”
Read more about verb conjugations
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Learn more about verbs
Worksheet
According to the post, which sentence correctly uses the simple past tense of ‘come’?
Which auxiliary verb does the past participle ‘come’ often follow when indicating the past perfect tense?
What is the simple past tense form of the verb ‘come’?
In the sentence “They have come to a unanimous decision,” what form of the verb ‘come’ is used?
According to the blog post, which sentence demonstrates a common incorrect usage?
Last night, my brother home late.
By the time we arrived, they had already to a decision.
She said she will over later this evening.
Have they back from their trip yet?
The package finally today, after days of waiting.
FAQs
What’s the simple past of come?
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When is ‘come’ used for past actions?
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How do I know if I need came or come?
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What’s an incorrect use of come?
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What’s an incorrect use of came?
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Yash, D. "What’s the Past Tense of Come? Come or Came?." Grammarflex, Jun 25, 2025, https://www.grammarflex.com/come-or-came-whats-the-past-tense-of-come/.
Sources
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Merriam-Webster, definition of come. Etymology online, origin of come.
