Meaning
- To encounter or find something unexpectedly.
- To give a certain impression or be perceived in a particular way.
- To successfully communicate or make your message understood.
Today's Sentences
01
You won’t believe what I came across today!
Situation
You won’t believe what I came across today!
Let me guess, another stray dog?
No, even better.
A vintage Polaroid camera at a yard sale!
Knowing you, the dog will probably end up in the next photo.
02
I smiled the moment I came across it.
Situation
Guess what?
I found your love letter from high school!
What?! You still have that?
I thought you’d given it up ages ago!
I smiled the moment I came across it.
It still makes my heart skip.
Wow, I must’ve been charming back then.
Writer's Note
"Come across" is an intransitive and inseparable phrasal verb.
- Intransitive - A phrasal verb that needs an object to complete its meaning.
Structure: "Subject + come across + object"
Example 1: I came across an old photo while cleaning the attic.
Example 2: She came across a great little cafe downtown.
Example 3: We came across a stray dog on our walk. - Inseparable - When an object cannot be placed between the particle and verb.
Structure: "Subject + come across + object"
Example 1: He comes across as very confident, but he’s actually shy.
Example 2: We came across a stray dog on our walk.
Structure: "Subject + come across + as + adjective/noun"
Example 3: He comes across as very confident, but he’s actually shy.
Example 4: Your message came across as a little too serious.
Structure: "Subject + come across (+ adverb/prepositional phrase)"
Example 5: His humor doesn’t always come across in text messages.
Example 6: Her passion really came across during the speech.
Related words: Appear, encounter, find, happen upon, meet, run across, run into, seem, strike, stumble upon.
