¿Cuál es la diferencia entre "Guests came and went" y "Guests came in and went out" ? "Guests came and went" vs "Guests came in and went out" ?

pythonpoole

1 feb 2016

Inglés (US)
Inglés (UK)

"Guests came and went" is more general and larger scale on the timeline. It can suggest, for example, that over a certain time period (e.g. months) many guests have come to visit and leave. Normally you would say "guests have come and gone" though.

Example: "Well it was a wonderful year, many guests came and went and we have been so glad to be able to share our home with them"

It's also possible for it to refer to a shorter time frame though:
Example:
A: "Where did the guests from the party go?"
B: "Oh, they already came and went"
But it would be more natural to just say "Oh, they already left" or "Oh, they already came and left".

"Guests came in and went out" implies a shorter time scale, as if the "guests came in this morning" and then "went out later in the afternoon". Also, went out doesn't necessarily mean the guests went home.. it could just mean they went out somewhere like to a shopping center or museum or something and that they intend to come back later.

Example:
A: "Where are our guests? I thought they would have arrived by now."
B: "Actually the guests came in this morning and went out to visit the museum shortly after."

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lukasz

1 feb 2016

Polaco

Thank you :) Could you give me yet, the most common "expressions" to enter some place as well as to leave some place?
I always get confused whether I should say to someone "go in", "come in", "go out", "leave". I don't know.

pythonpoole

1 feb 2016

Inglés (US)
Inglés (UK)

@lukasz
The easy one is "leave". If you're going home, then you're "leaving".
"I'm about to leave" usually means you're going to go home or at least it means you intend to go somewhere else like "I'm going to leave this party and try and find another party to go to".

"Come in" suggests that you are already inside and you're inviting someone to come in with you.. but you could also say something like "Is it okay if I come inside?" (essentially inviting yourself in).

"Go out" is sort of like leaving, but it implies you are going out shortly and intend to come back. Like "I'm going out for a little bit, I'll be back for dinner". It could mean you're going to a mall to go shopping for example. "Go outside" is like "go out" but it implies you're going out into nature (e.g. a yard, field, park, etc.) that is nearby.

"Go inside" or "go in" just means you're going to go into a building or structure nearby. Example: 'I'm going inside this cave" or "I'm going in the store, you can stay in the car if you want".

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lukasz

1 feb 2016

Polaco

Pretty well :)
Let me check if I understand. In order to "come in" (a room for instance), firstly you need to "go in" (the building inside which is the room). For instance, "I went in the hotel, and then having found the room no 576 I just came in without knocking".

Going out is just leaving for a while, whereas you leave without an intend to return.
Am I right?

pythonpoole

1 feb 2016

Inglés (US)
Inglés (UK)

"come in" has more to do with invitations to go inside somewhere. People might ask you to "come inside" or "come in here", inviting you in. You could also ask and invite yourself in like "can I come in?", "is it okay if I come in?". You could also describe yourself as entering this way like "I came inside after he invited me in".

A more natural way to say your example sentence would be something like:
"I went inside the hotel. Once I found room #576, I just entered the room without knocking."

Note: in US English, "#" means "number", you cannot use "no" to represent the word or concept of number ("no" only means not, nope, etc.)

As for going out vs leaving, you are correct. "Going out" implies maybe one or a few hours and then you'll come back whereas leaving is more permanent, it suggests that either you are not coming back or that you don't intend to be back for a long while.

You could, for example, leave home to go on a trip / vacation to somewhere else. Some people might also say "I'm leaving for work" or something because they'll be gone for most of the day. Also, "going out" usually implies it's for leisure, recreation, or entertainment.

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lukasz

1 feb 2016

Polaco

Hmm, so without invitation I can't come in? What can I do then? If I live alone I can only enter my flat for instance?

pythonpoole

1 feb 2016

Inglés (US)
Inglés (UK)

@lukasz
"Come in" is normally (but not always) reserved for when there is somebody already inside who is inviting you in or you are asking somebody (who is already inside) to invite you in.

Examples:
"Come in and take a seat please"
"Come in please, the door is open"
"May I come into your office?"
"Can I come inside and have a drink?"
"Your father let me in, so I came inside"
"The door was open, so I decided to come inside" (an implicit rather than explicit invitation)

You can also use "came inside" or "came in" to indicate when you entered the place (e.g. house/building) that you are currently in.
A: "When did you come inside?"
B: "I came inside about 5 minutes ago"

In the example where you let yourself in, you can say stuff like:
"I got home at around 5 pm"
"I arrived home last night at 11"
"I parked in the driveway and went inside"
"I couldn't wait to get home and walk through the front door"
"I heard the gunshot just after entering my apartment around 5 pm"
"I walked up the stairs and went into my apartment to get my mobile phone"

Note: "flat" is not a well understood term in the United States, instead you should call it an "apartment" which should be understood in most English-speaking countries (although 'flat' is more common in UK English).

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lukasz

2 feb 2016

Polaco

So, like in your last example, you can "go in" a room too? Does it matter, at all, whether I enter a building or something inside a building (a classroom for example)?

I don't know, I understand it that normally the action of entering some place is "going in", but having been ecouraged/invited to do so is "coming in". For instance, burglars don't come in, they just go in. I'm sorry.

pythonpoole

2 feb 2016

Inglés (US)
Inglés (UK)

This is an interesting topic of discussion because, as a native English speaker, it seems to just come naturally to me... but then to try and explicitly define the rules for when each phrase is used -- that's a lot more challenging.

As for "go <in/into>", yes you can use it for a room. Examples:
"David, can you go into the kitchen and bring me a snack?"
"I'm going to go to the living room to watch some television."

The "come <in/inside>" situation is a little more complicated, but these are the three cases (that I can think of) where it applies:

1) if you are currently in a building/house and you are referring to someone entering the building/house (either in the past or by current invitation). Examples:

"Would you like to come inside?"
"I ran home, came inside, and then I sat down in this chair"
"It was raining, so I invited Susan to come inside through that door"
"I was sitting right here and the burglar broke the door down and came inside the house"

2) If you are talking about a time when you were in a particular building/house and someone entered that building/house (or you invited them in). Examples:

"A crazy man came into the school today and started yelling."
"I was at work yesterday and I invited John to come into my office."
"When I was at the office, I invited a man on the street to come inside because it was raining"

3) You are requesting permission to enter a building/house. Examples:

"May I come in?"
"Is it alright if I come in?"

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lukasz

2 feb 2016

Polaco

My reflection about "go into" is that it doesn't mean the same as "go in". It seems to me that "go in" has more to do with "go inside", whereas "go into" more with just "go to" (like in your first example sentences).
I mean that "go into" emphasizes more the way before reaching the kitchen, whereas "go in" emphasizes more being inside the kitchen (something like "I have been to England" and "I have been in England"). But well, that's only my reflection.
But now another question comes to my mind: when someone is standing in front of the room, and hesitates to enter it, does the phrase "go in" works or only "come in" can be used to encourage him to do so?

I still don't really see the difference between "go in" and "come in". Maybe tell me now when to use "go in", and I'll try to spot something what differentiates them.

pythonpoole

2 feb 2016

Inglés (US)
Inglés (UK)

If you are outside the building/house, you may tell another person to "go in" to the building/house, not "come in". If you are talking about a person entering another building/house and you were not in the building/house at the time, then you would say he/she "went in", not "came in".

It seems to have to do with where you are now or where you were at the time of the event you are referring to. If you are or were inside the building being entered then it's "come"/"came", but if you are and were outside the building being entered then it's typically "go"/"went" (except if you're asking permission to come in). I hope that makes sense.

As for "go in" vs "go into", I would say in many cases they are interchangeable. "Go to" is more general (it doesn't necessarily mean you're going "in") and "going inside" is used to emphasize the comparison to outside (like they went from outside to inside, rather than just from one room to another).

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lukasz

2 feb 2016

Polaco

What about the example with someone standing in front of the door and hesitating to enter. Can we tell that person "go in" or "come in"?

pythonpoole

2 feb 2016

Inglés (US)
Inglés (UK)

The same rule applies. If you are outside and they are hesitating to enter, then you can tell them to "go in" (not "come in"). If you are inside and they are hesitating to enter, then you can tell them to "come in" (not "go in").

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lukasz

2 feb 2016

Polaco

Ok, and let it be the final conclusion of this discussion. You certainly made me this clearer than it had been before, and that's enough for now, I guess; this is too complicated to fully fathom at once :)

Thank you very much for help :)