“Come here” or “You’re coming here”

June 22nd 2007

Our daughter was going out the front door of our apartment into the stairway and my wife wanted her back here. What would you say to get her back?

“Come here~!”? That’s probably what I’d say, but in French my wife says tu viens ici! (”You’re coming here”).

To me there is a subtle difference. One I never thought about. “Come here” is an order, one that may or may not be obeyed. And judging from most children I see in the U.S., it’s not obeyed more often than not.

“You’re coming here” is not an order and therefore can’t be disobeyed. It’s a statement of what is happening, and in this case it was our daughter supposedly coming back.

But I have to confess she didn’t come back. I’m not sure if the French approach works better or not, I’m going to have to pay attention and see. But it’s interesting to think about.

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