come over vs. come by

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shardaneng

Senior Member
casteddu
italian
Hello everybody.
I'd like to know the difference between these two phrasal verbs (come over - come (drop/stop) by (assuming that these which come along with the preposition "by" are synonyms).
As far as I know they mean just the same thing, "to pay a brief or casual visit."
Is there any nuance of meaning that distinguish them?

Thanks in advance for any suggestion.
 
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    Tonza

    Senior Member
    Chicago, US
    English - U.S.
    To me they're a little different. "Come over" sounds slightly less brief and casual to me than come/drop/stop by. For example, I might say: "Why don't you come over for dinner on Friday night?" or "I'll come over tomorrow and help you pack", implying a planned visit of up to a few hours. But I might say, "Why don't you come by for coffee one afternoon?" or "Why don't you come by and try on those dresses I'm giving away?" These would be very brief visits of even just a few minutes. I also wouldn't necessarily expect the person to arrive at a certain time; they'd be welcome to arrive within a window of time, whenever was convenient for them. It could even be an unexpected visit: "Mary dropped by yesterday when I had just gotten out of the shower...it was so embarrassing!"
     
    ChickenChicken

    ChickenChicken

    Banned
    Italian
    Ciao,

    "come over" vuol dire passare a casa di qualcuno. Ma se qualcun'altro ti chiede di passare a casa di qualcun'altro? per esempio "passa a casa sua (di lei o di lui)". Non si può dire "come over" perchè "to come" vuol dire "venire". Forse si dovrebbe usare "to pass by"?
     
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