Go vs. Come – English Grammar Exercises for A1
Your mother is downstairs in the kitchen calling you for dinner. You are upstairs in your bedroom and shouting back to answer her. You and your family members are communicating about moving around the house.
Choose the best word (A, B, C, or D) to complete the sentences.
1 Mom: “Dinner is ready! Are you hungry?”
You: “Yes, Mom! I am ______ down right now!”
(A) going
(B) arrive
(C) coming
(D) come
2 Mom: “Hurry up! The soup is getting cold.”
You: “Wait a minute, I ______!”
(A) am coming
(B) am going
(C) comes
(D) will arriving
3 You: “Mom, I am finishing my homework. Can I ______ downstairs in five minutes?”
(A) to come
(B) coming
(C) go
(D) come
4 Mom: “Can you ______ here and help me carry these bowls?”
(A) to go
(B) come
(C) go
(D) coming
5 Dad (from the garage): “I need a flashlight. Who can bring it to me?”
You: “I have it! I will ______ to the garage right now.”
(A) going
(B) come
(C) go
(D) to come
6 Mom: “Where is your brother? Tell him to eat.”
You: “He is washing his hands. He is ______ down with me.”
(A) coming
(B) going
(C) walking
(D) come
7 You: “Mom, I dropped my pen under the bed. I will ______ as soon as I find it!”
(A) arriving
(B) going
(C) to come
(D) come
8 Mom: “If you don’t ______ down to the kitchen in two minutes, I will eat your pizza!”
(A) go
(B) come
(C) coming
(D) to go
9 You (shouting from upstairs): “Is dad already in the kitchen?”
Mom: “Yes, he is already here. We are waiting for you to ______.”
(A) come
(B) going
(C) comes
(D) go
10 Sister (from the living room): “Can you ______ to the living room to fix the TV? It’s broken.”
(A) go
(B) coming
(C) come
(D) to come
11 You: “I can’t fix the TV right now because I must ______ to the kitchen to eat dinner with Mom first.”
(A) going
(B) come
(C) to go
(D) go
12 Mom: “Why aren’t you ______? I called you three times!”
(A) going
(B) coming
(C) come
(D) moving
13 You: “I’m sorry, Mom. I was looking for my phone. I am ______ to the kitchen now.”
(A) coming
(B) heading
(C) go
(D) going
14 Mom: “Bring your dirty laundry when you ______ downstairs.”
(A) going
(B) to come
(C) come
(D) go
15 You: “I am bringing the dirty laundry! But I need to ______ to the bathroom to wash my hands first.”
(A) to go
(B) coming
(C) come
(D) go
16 Mom: “Okay, but please ______ here quickly. We are all hungry.”
(A) come
(B) go
(C) coming
(D) arriving
17 Brother (knocking on your bedroom door): “Are you ready? Let’s ______ downstairs together.”
(A) coming
(B) go
(C) to go
(D) come
18 You to your brother: “You ______ first. I will be there in a second.”
(A) coming
(B) to go
(C) go
(D) come
19 Friend (calling your phone): “Are you busy? Can I ______ over to your house right now?”
(A) come
(B) going
(C) go
(D) to come
20 You: “I am ______ down to the kitchen now, Mom, but after dinner, I have to ______ back upstairs to study.”
(A) going / come
(B) coming / go
(C) coming / coming
(D) coming / to go
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C) coming
Why it is correct: You are moving towards the listener (your mom). In English, moving towards the person you are talking to requires “come”.
Mistake Analysis: (A) “going” is a Common Mistake (translating directly from the Vietnamese “Con đang đi”). (D) “come” is a Structural Error (missing the “-ing” after “am”). (B) “arrive” is a Strong Distractor, but it is grammatically wrong here and sounds too formal for walking inside a house.
2 (A) am coming
Why it is correct: It indicates present continuous movement towards the listener.
Mistake Analysis: (B) “am going” is the Common Mistake. (C) “comes” is a Structural Error (wrong verb conjugation for “I”). (D) “will arriving” is a Structural Error (cannot mix ‘will’ and ‘-ing’ like this).
3 (D) come
Why it is correct: Modal verb “Can I” requires a bare infinitive. The movement is towards the listener.
Mistake Analysis: (C) “go” is the Common Mistake. (A) “to come” is a Structural Error (adding “to” after “can”). (B) “coming” is a Structural Error.
4 (B) come
Why it is correct: Mom is asking you to move towards her.
Mistake Analysis: (C) “go” is the Common Mistake. (D) “coming” is a Structural Error (after “can you”). (A) “to go” is a Structural Error.
5 (B) come
Why it is correct: You are telling Dad you will move towards him (the listener). Therefore, you use “come”.
Mistake Analysis: (C) “go” is the Common Mistake (students think “I am moving away from my room” so they use “go”, but the rule prioritizes moving towards the listener). (A) “going” is a Structural Error (after “will”). (D) “to come” is a Structural Error.
6 (A) coming
Why it is correct: Both you and your brother are moving towards the listener (Mom).
Mistake Analysis: (B) “going” is the Common Mistake. (C) “walking” is a Strong Distractor (grammatically correct, but “coming down” is the natural, expected collocation here). (D) “come” is a Structural Error.
7 (D) come
Why it is correct: Future movement towards the listener.
Mistake Analysis: (B) “going” is the Common Mistake. (C) “to come” is a Structural Error (after “will”). (A) “arriving” is a Strong Distractor (wrong structure, and too formal).
8 (B) come
Why it is correct: Mom is in the kitchen and wants you to move towards her.
Mistake Analysis: (A) “go” is the Common Mistake. (C) “coming” is a Structural Error (after “don’t”). (D) “to go” is a Structural Error.
9 (A) come
Why it is correct: You are moving towards Mom and Dad.
Mistake Analysis: (D) “go” is the Common Mistake. (B) “going” is a Structural Error. (C) “comes” is a Structural Error.
10 (C) come
Why it is correct: Your sister wants you to move towards her location (the living room).
Mistake Analysis: (A) “go” is the Common Mistake. (D) “to come” is a Structural Error. (B) “coming” is a Structural Error.
11 (D) go
Why it is correct: You are talking to your sister (in the living room) about moving to the kitchen (where Mom is). Since you are moving to a third location away from both you and your sister, you must use “go”.
Mistake Analysis: (B) “come” is the Common Mistake (students use “come” everywhere after learning the previous rule, but fail to analyze the third location). (A) “going” is a Structural Error. (C) “to go” is a Structural Error (after “must”).
12 (B) coming
Why it is correct: Present continuous, moving towards Mom.
Mistake Analysis: (A) “going” is the Common Mistake. (D) “moving” is a Strong Distractor (technically correct grammar, but unnatural in this context). (C) “come” is a Structural Error.
13 (A) coming
Why it is correct: Present continuous, moving towards the listener.
Mistake Analysis: (D) “going” is the Common Mistake. (C) “go” is a Structural Error. (B) “heading” is a Strong Distractor (used by advanced speakers, but “coming” is the target foundational verb here).
14 (C) come
Why it is correct: Simple present for future conditional-like time clause (“when you come”).
Mistake Analysis: (D) “go” is the Common Mistake. (A) “going” is a Structural Error. (B) “to come” is a Structural Error.
15 (D) go
Why it is correct: You are telling Mom (in the kitchen) that you are moving to the bathroom. The bathroom is a place away from both you and Mom. Therefore, you “go” to the bathroom.
Mistake Analysis: (C) “come” is the Common Mistake (applying the “come” rule blindly). (A) “to go” is a Structural Error. (B) “coming” is a Structural Error.
16 (A) come
Why it is correct: “Here” is where the speaker (Mom) is. Movement towards “here” is always “come”.
Mistake Analysis: (B) “go” is the Common Mistake. (C) “coming” is a Structural Error. (D) “arriving” is a Strong Distractor.
17 (B) go
Why it is correct: Your brother is next to you. You are both moving away from your current location together. Since the listener (your brother) is moving with you to a new place, you use “go”.
Mistake Analysis: (A) “coming” is a Structural Error. (D) “come” is the Common Mistake (confusing the direction). (C) “to go” is a Structural Error.
18 (C) go
Why it is correct: You are telling your brother to move away from you towards downstairs. Movement away from the speaker is “go”.
Mistake Analysis: (D) “come” is the Common Mistake. (A) “coming” is a Structural Error. (B) “to go” is a Structural Error.
19 (A) come
Why it is correct: The friend is moving towards your location.
Mistake Analysis: (C) “go” is the Common Mistake (translating “đi qua nhà”). (B) “going” is a Structural Error. (D) “to come” is a Structural Error.
20 (B) coming / go
Why it is correct: First action: you move towards Mom (“coming”). Second action: you move away from Mom back to your room (“go”).
Mistake Analysis: (A) “going / come” is the Common Mistake (doing the exact opposite of the English rule due to native language interference). (D) “coming / to go” is a Structural Error (after “have to”, we just need the bare verb “go” because “to” is already there). (C) “coming / coming” is a Strong Distractor.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- The “Come” Rule (Moving Towards): Use COME when the movement is towards the person you are speaking to (the listener), or towards the place where the speaker is right now.
- Example: When your mom calls you to the kitchen, you say “I am coming!” (Not “I am going”, because you are moving towards her).
- The “Go” Rule (Moving Away): Use GO when the movement is away from both the speaker and the listener, moving to a completely different (third) location.
- Example: If you and your mom are in the living room, you say “I am going to the supermarket.”