Meaning & use
comes up
Last updated
“comes up” is a form of “come up”.
Meanings
verbintransitive
to happen or appear, especially unexpectedly
Grammar: No object. Often followed by in or at: comes up in conversation.
Patterns
- something comes up
- come up in something
- come up at something
If a problem comes up, call me right away.
Her name comes up often in these meetings.
Something important came up, so I had to leave early.
verbintransitive
to move toward someone or something, especially to speak or approach
Grammar: No object. Often followed by to: comes up to someone.
Patterns
- come up to someone
- come up to something
A stranger comes up to me and asks for directions.
The dog comes up to the gate every morning.
verbintransitive
to be mentioned or discussed
Grammar: No object. Common in phrases like 'the topic comes up'.
Patterns
- something comes up
- the subject comes up
The topic of money always comes up at family dinners.
His name comes up whenever we talk about good teachers.
Common combinations
- something comes up
- If something comes up, I'll let you know.
- comes up in conversation
- That subject often comes up in conversation.
- comes up to someone
- She comes up to me and says hello.
- comes up with
- He always comes up with good ideas.
Synonyms and how they differ
- happens
- Happens is more neutral and general; comes up often suggests something unexpected or sudden.
- arises
- Arises is more formal and often used for problems or situations; comes up is more everyday.
- appears
- Appears focuses on becoming visible; comes up can also mean being mentioned or happening.
Word family
- come up verb
- The base form of this phrasal verb.
- came up verb
- Past tense form.
- coming up verb
- -ing form; also used to mean happening soon.
Commonly confused: comes up or come up?
comes up vs come up
Come up is the base form used with I, you, we, they, and after 'to'. Comes up is only for he, she, it, or singular nouns.
Practice
Whenever a new problem ______, she deals with it calmly.
Choose one answer.
The subject 'a new problem' is singular, so the verb needs the third-person singular form 'comes up'. 'Come up' is plural or base form, 'coming up' is not a finite verb here, and 'came up' would change the tense to past, which does not fit the present meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “comes up”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.