Go vs. Come – English Grammar Exercises for A1
You spot an error on your computer screen and call your colleague from the next desk over to help you. Both of you are communicating within the same office space.
Choose the best word (A, B, C, or D) to complete the sentences.
1 “Hey John, can you ______ here for a second?”
(A) go
(B) to come
(C) come
(D) coming
2 “Please ______ to my desk. I have a problem with this file.”
(A) come
(B) go
(C) arrive
(D) coming
3 “I found an error. ______ and look at my screen.”
(A) Going
(B) Come
(C) To come
(D) Walk
4 “Are you busy? Can you ______ over here?”
(A) to come
(B) go
(C) coming
(D) come
5 “I need your help. Please ______ here now.”
(A) comes
(B) move
(C) come
(D) go
6 “When you have a minute, please ______ to my computer.”
(A) come
(B) check
(C) go
(D) coming
7 “Don’t stay at your desk. ______ here and see this weird email.”
(A) Go
(B) Come
(C) To come
(D) Coming
8 “Could you ______ over to my side of the office?”
(A) coming
(B) go
(C) walking
(D) come
9 “I can’t fix this bug. You should ______ here and try it.”
(A) go
(B) to come
(C) come
(D) going
10 “If you ______ to my desk, I will show you the mistake.”
(A) will come
(B) go
(C) come
(D) comes
11 “Stop typing for a moment and ______ here, please.”
(A) come
(B) go
(C) to come
(D) coming
12 “Let me know when you can ______ to my screen.”
(A) going
(B) come
(C) go
(D) to come
13 “You have to ______ here to see the password; I can’t say it out loud.”
(A) to come
(B) go
(C) coming
(D) come
14 “Why don’t you ______ over here so we can read the document together?”
(A) come
(B) go
(C) coming
(D) to come
15 “I am pointing at the error. Are you ______ here or not?”
(A) going
(B) come
(C) coming
(D) to come
16 “I told him to ______ here, but he decided to ______ to the manager’s office instead.”
(A) go / come
(B) come / go
(C) coming / going
(D) to come / to go
17 “Before you ______ here, please bring your notebook.”
(A) go
(B) will come
(C) come
(D) coming
18 “He is ______ to my desk right now to fix the software.”
(A) going
(B) coming
(C) come
(D) moving
19 “I asked you to ______ here ten minutes ago! Why are you still sitting there?”
(A) go
(B) coming
(C) come
(D) to come
20 “You don’t need to ______ to the IT room; just ______ here and I’ll help you.”
(A) come / go
(B) going / coming
(C) go / come
(D) to go / to come
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C) come
Why it is correct: Asking someone to move towards your location (“here”) requires “come”.
Mistake Analysis: (A) “go” is a Common Mistake caused by translating directly from the native language. (B) and (D) are Structural Errors; the modal verb “can” must be followed by a base verb.
2 (A) come
Why it is correct: You are asking your colleague to move towards your desk.
Mistake Analysis: (B) “go” is the Common Mistake. (D) “coming” is a Structural Error for an imperative sentence. (C) “arrive” is a Meaning Trap (we say “arrive at,” not “arrive to”).
3 (B) Come
Why it is correct: An imperative sentence directing the listener to move closer to look at the screen.
Mistake Analysis: (A) “Going” is the Common Mistake / Structural Error. (C) “To come” is a Structural Error. (D) “Walk” is a Meaning Trap (it is grammatically fine, but “come” is the natural, expected verb for calling someone over).
4 (D) come
Why it is correct: “Come over here” is a very common and natural English phrase used to call someone to your location.
Mistake Analysis: (B) “go” is the Common Mistake. (A) and (C) are Structural Errors after “can”.
5 (C) come
Why it is correct: An imperative command asking the colleague to move to your position immediately.
Mistake Analysis: (D) “go” is the Common Mistake. (A) “comes” is a Structural Error. (B) “move” is a Meaning Trap (“move here” often implies relocating one’s permanent seat/desk rather than just walking over).
6 (A) come
Why it is correct: Movement directed toward the speaker’s computer.
Mistake Analysis: (C) “go” is the Common Mistake. (D) “coming” is a Structural Error. (B) “check” is a Meaning Trap (we say “check my computer,” not “check to my computer”).
7 (B) Come
Why it is correct: Telling someone to leave their spot and move to your spot (“here”).
Mistake Analysis: (A) “Go” is the Common Mistake. (C) and (D) are Structural Errors in an imperative sentence.
8 (D) come
Why it is correct: Using “could” + base verb to politely ask someone to travel to your side of the office.
Mistake Analysis: (B) “go” is the Common Mistake. (A) and (C) are Structural Errors.
9 (C) come
Why it is correct: Giving advice with “should” + base verb, directing movement toward the speaker.
Mistake Analysis: (A) “go” is the Common Mistake. (B) and (D) are Structural Errors after a modal verb.
10 (C) come
Why it is correct: First conditional sentence (If + present simple). The subject “you” takes the base verb “come”.
Mistake Analysis: (B) “go” is the Common Mistake. (D) “comes” is a Structural Error. (A) “will come” is a Structural Error (do not use future tense inside the “if” clause).
11 (A) come
Why it is correct: Asking the listener to stop their current action and move toward the speaker.
Mistake Analysis: (B) “go” is the Common Mistake. (C) and (D) are Structural Errors.
12 (B) come
Why it is correct: “Come to my screen” involves movement directed toward the speaker.
Mistake Analysis: (C) “go” is the Common Mistake. (A) and (D) are Structural Errors after “can”.
13 (D) come
Why it is correct: “Have to” + base verb.
Mistake Analysis: (B) “go” is the Common Mistake. (A) “to come” is a Structural Error (the “to” is already in the sentence prompt). (C) “coming” is a Structural Error.
14 (A) come
Why it is correct: The suggestion structure “Why don’t you…” is followed by a base verb.
Mistake Analysis: (B) “go” is the Common Mistake. (C) and (D) are Structural Errors.
15 (C) coming
Why it is correct: Present continuous tense (Are you + V-ing) describing an action happening right now, directed toward the speaker.
Mistake Analysis: (A) “going” is the most Common Mistake (students often default to “going” for any travel). (B) and (D) are Structural Errors.
16 (B) come / go
Why it is correct: The first action is instructing him to move toward the speaker (“come here”). The second action is him moving away to a completely different, third location (“go to the manager’s office”).
Mistake Analysis: (A) “go / come” is the Common Mistake caused by reversing the directional rules. (C) and (D) are Structural Errors.
17 (C) come
Why it is correct: A time clause starting with “Before” uses the present simple tense.
Mistake Analysis: (A) “go” is the Common Mistake. (B) “will come” is a Structural Error. (D) “coming” is a Structural Error.
18 (B) coming
Why it is correct: The colleague is currently in the process of moving toward your desk (He is + V-ing).
Mistake Analysis: (A) “going” is the Common Mistake. (C) “come” is a Structural Error. (D) “moving” is a Meaning Trap.
19 (C) come
Why it is correct: The structure is “ask someone to + base verb”.
Mistake Analysis: (A) “go” is the Common Mistake. (D) “to come” is a Structural Error (the prompt already has “to”). (B) “coming” is a Structural Error.
20 (C) go / come
Why it is correct: The first clause describes moving to a third location away from both people (the IT room), so it requires “go”. The second clause describes moving toward the speaker (“here”), so it requires “come”.
Mistake Analysis: (A) “come / go” is the Common Mistake. (B) and (D) are Structural Errors.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- COME (Pulling Closer): Whenever you want someone to move toward your CURRENT location (e.g., closer to your desk, over to your computer screen, or right next to you), you must use the verb COME (“Come here,” “Come to my desk,” “Come look at this”).
- GO (Pushing Away): You only use GO when both you and the listener are moving toward a third location that is outside of your current shared space (“Go to the IT room,” “Go to the manager’s office”).
- The Translation Trap: Beginners often confuse “Go” and “Come” because in many languages, a single word for “walk/travel” is used regardless of the direction. Remember this golden rule: If the direction of movement is toward the person who is speaking, it is ALWAYS “Come”!