[Grammar] Come On Over To

[wertyy]

"Pickups line the highway as the townsfolk come on over to observe Ray round off the pitcher's mound, pour the lines of lime, mount floodlights and bleachers."

In dictionaries, I could find "come on" and "come over to", but not "come on over to". What does "come on over to" mean?

 

[5jj]

Pretty much the same as 'come over to'.

 

[wertyy]

"on" adds nothing at all to "come over to"?

 

[5jj]

Not really. It may perhaps sound a bit more folksy and informal.

 

[wertyy]

Not really. It may perhaps sound a bit more folksy and informal.

Does that mean that "come on over to", in place of "come over to", is a slang phrase?

 

[5jj]

No.

 

[wertyy]

"come on over to" is equivalent to "come over to" in meaning, but the former is regional in usage?

 

[Barb_D]

If you'll note, he said it was "folksy." That's a great way to describe it.

It's not regional, it's not slang, and it's not wrong. However, it's not formal. It's the way "plain folks" talk to each other, in a friendly way.

 

[wertyy]

If you'll note, he said it was "folksy." That's a great way to describe it.

It's not regional, it's not slang, and it's not wrong. However, it's not formal. It's the way "plain folks" talk to each other, in a friendly way.

Would "come on over to" be allowed in a paper for a college freshman writing class?

 

[Barb_D]

I think you need to ask a professor of a freshman English class.

In my opinion, when describing something as small-town as gathering to watch someone strip a baseball field, it makes perfect sense in the context. But then, thank the dear Lord, I do not have to grade freshman papers.

 

[SoothingDave]

To me, "Come over" sounds like a command, while "come on over" sounds like an invitation.

 

[wertyy]

To me, "Come over" sounds like a command, while "come on over" sounds like an invitation.

The original example in post #1 was written in the THIRD person voice, so "come on over to", as used in the example, was NOT a command from a first-person to a second-person.

 

[SoothingDave]

I was explaining why this might be used and felt more "folksy" than just "come over."

 

[Barb_D]

I feel you have an agenda with this phrase.

Did you write it, and get marked down for it, and so you're looking for justification?
Did you grade it, and mark it down, and the person who wrote it is arguing in its favor?

You seem to be looking for us to say "It's fine, 100% of the time" or "No, it doesn't belong in academic papers" and I'm afraid you won't get either from us.

 

[wertyy]

I accidentally used "come on over to" when I meant "come over to" in my short story for some writing class. The whole sentence was:

"He came on over to his cousin's house for dinner."

My instructor "marked" "came on over". I asked him what that meant. He said it was not too right, but not completely wrong either. I asked for clarification, and he told me to look it up. So I looked up dictionaries and googled "come over" and "come on over", the latter being used in some places.

 

[Barb_D]

If you had written "he went on over" no one would have batted an eye.