come or go

[Jessica725]

Hi there,
Can anyone tell me the difference between the two sentences below using the verbs "came "and "went"?
1. Yolanda came to her mother for help.
2. Melissa went to her mother for help.

Thanks.

 

[teechar]

2. Melissa went to her mother for help.

That's the one normally said.

The difference between "came" and "went" can perhaps be more clearly illustrated if we change the sentence slightly.
1- Melissa went to the shop yesterday.
2- Melissa came to the shop yesterday.
In #1, the speaker is not at the shop.
In #2, the speaker is at the shop; or the shop is of significance to the speaker (e.g. the speaker is the owner of the shop).

 

[emsr2d2]

It does, however, depend on who's speaking and the context. If we take teechar's example sentence #1 and turn it into part of a dialogue, Melissa could be at the shop.

Tom: Where's Melissa?
Helen: She's at the shop.
Tom: Again? She went to the shop yesterday!

In that context, Melissa is at the shop right now.

 

[kilroy65]

You can use either "came" or "went", depending on your point of view.

Yolanda came to her mother for help.
Melissa went to her mother for help.