What does the phrase "come to one's feet" mean?

[linhtho0211]

Dear teachers
Could you please kindly explain me the phrase "come to one's feet". I saw the sentence "Her friends came to her feet and helped her" but don't understand it clearly
Thanks in advance
Linh

[David L.]

Neither do I, and I'm a native speaker! What situation is going on that this sentence appears?

"Come to one's feet", as in the sentence, "At the end of the performance, the audience came to it's feet, clapping and cheering, with cries of 'bravo'."
That is, the audience were so excited by the performance they had just seen, that they did not sit sedately in their seats and clap, but expressed how much they had enjoyed it by standing and clapping - "they came to their feet".

[RonBee]

Neither do I, and I'm a native speaker! What situation is going on that this sentence appears?

"Come to one's feet", as in the sentence, "At the end of the performance, the audience came to its feet, clapping and cheering, with cries of 'bravo'."
That is, the audience were so excited by the performance they had just seen, that they did not sit sedately in their seats and clap, but expressed how much they had enjoyed it by standing and clapping - "they came to their feet".

That's the meaning of the phrase that occurred to me.

~R

[David L.]

Thank you RonBee. Typos like that could spark off some very puzzled posts! My mind was still thinking "one's feet"

[linhtho0211]

The situation was not given clearly. I just read this sentence in one of my tasks. It exactly is:"She fell to the ground, sobbing till her friends came to her feet and helped her".
What more do you think about this Can this sentence be wrong?

[David L.]

Well, she has fallen to the ground, and so is lying there. Perhaps the sentence should be:
"She fell to the ground, sobbing, till her friends came to where she lay and helped her".
They may have walked over to her, so that they were not only near her, but perhaps standing more near her feet than her head. But why is it important for the writer to tell us exactly where they were standing in relation to her. If the writer went on to say that, in her throes of anguish, one of her legs made a kicking movement which hit one of the bystanders on the shin...but otherwise, I cannot see the sense of that part of the sentence.

[linhtho0211]

Thanks David. I understand what you mean. Maybe it is not given enough clues to make the circumstance clearer. But what you have said is what I want.
Still, please let me know if I use the correct tense here: what you have said or what you said.
Thanks once again.
Linh