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Hanyu
How many meanings does 'come to me' have?
I know 'come to sb' means '(of an idea) to enter your mind' in Oxford Dictionary, and it reads 'If a thought or idea comes to you, you suddenly remember or start to think about it:' in Cambridge Dictionary.
Then I found a new item on thefreedictionary.com.
It reads 'To advance toward the speaker or toward a specified place; approach'.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/come+to
And I can still the use of 'come to me' in some musics/lyrics.
Is the second meaning a popular and natural one now?
Thanks in advance.
Aug 31, 2015 9:49 AM
Answers · 6
3
You are overthinking this. There's nothing new or unusual about the definition 'To advance toward the speaker or toward a specified place; approach'. This is a straightforward and literal use of a common verb and a common preposition. It's not idiomatic at all. And yes, it's certainly common and natural to use 'come to' in the sense of 'approach' because that's what the verb 'come' and the preposition 'to' mean - a movement towards the speaker.
For example, a helpful boss might say to a new employee, 'If you have any problems, just come to me.'
The use of 'come to' someone meaning to 'occur to' is more figurative, but the concept is similar. For example, 'An idea suddenly came to me.'
August 31, 2015
2
Yes, both uses are common and natural.
Bob
August 31, 2015
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Hanyu
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English
Learning Language
English
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