came by/came over

[diamondcutter]

Clara, 15 at the time, pressed the call button. An air hostess came by and explained the situation. “We have a passenger on the plane who’s blind and deaf,” she said. The passenger seemed to want something, but he was traveling alone and the air hostesses couldn’t understand what he needed.

Source: English Test, Senior High School Entrance Examination, Henan Province, 2019

Is the use of “came by” appropriate? What about using “came over”?

 

[Tarheel]

"Came by" and "came over" are equally valid in my opinion.

(The first and second sentences are not connected.)

 

[5jj]

I would not use 'by' there. I'd probably use 'up (to her)'.

 

[diamondcutter]

This is the previous context:

Clara Daly was sitting on an Alaska Airlines flight from Boston to Los Angeles when she heard a worried voice over the loudspeaker: “Does anyone on board know American Sign Language?”

 

[Rover_KE]

That should have been in post #1.

What question follows that text in the exam?

 

[diamondcutter]

It’s a reading comprehension question. I have no doubts about the questions but some language points.

Here’s the whole passage.

Clara Daly was sitting on an Alaska Airlines flight from Boston to Los... _满分5_满分网

Clara Daly was sitting on an Alaska Airlines flight from Boston to Los Angeles when she heard a worr...

www.manfen5.com

 

[Tarheel]

@diamondcutter Now everything is perfectly clear. It's a reading comprehension test. (It's not complicated.)

 

[diamondcutter]

I found the original source of the passage:
www.rd.com/article/teen-helped-blind-deaf-passenger/
This is the first paragraph of the original passage:
Clara Daly was seated on an Alaska Airlines flight en route from Boston to Los Angeles when a flight attendant asked an urgent question over the loudspeaker: “Does anyone on board know American Sign Language?” Clara, 15 at the time, pressed the call button. The flight attendant came by and explained the situation.

I think the word “came by” here means “came by her”. That is to say, the word “her” is omitted. Do you think so?

 

[emsr2d2]

No. We don't "come by" a person. We sometimes "come by" a thing. On that basis, and bearing in mind that the original sentence is entirely grammatical, you could argue that that the flight attendant "came by her seat".

Like 5jj, I find the use of "come by" in that context quite odd. I would use "went/came up to her".

As we've said before, the problem with tests written by non-native English speakers is that although the wording might be grammatical, it might not be at all natural. That's why even native speakers sometimes have trouble answering those questions!

 

[diamondcutter]

Maybe it's a difference between BE and AE? The original passage is from Reader’s Digest. The passage uses "came by" twice. The other sentence is this: She (Clara) came by again a bit later because he (Cook) wanted to know the time.

 

[Tarheel]

I don't have a problem with "came by" there. However, it's just "came by" not "came by her".

(As I recall, the first sentence wasn't included at the beginning. When it was included the rest of it made more sense.)