These phrasal verbs have a similar meaning (please correct me if not):
- run into
- come across
- come upon
Are there any nuances to choose between them? For example, I might be wrong but I mostly see run into used for meeting a person unexpectedly.
Update:
My understanding of responses so far:
- come upon is not very common any more
- run into is the most frequently used one
- run into might or might not have a negative connotation (No consensus as I see it)
Perhaps working on some concrete sentences might give a better result. For example, which one would you use for (in parentheses are my first thoughts):
- Unexpectedly meeting a dangerously fierce pack of dogs on the street (run into)
- Unexpectedly meeting a very beautiful girl whom you don't know on the street (come across)
- Unexpectedly finding a book that you had lost (come across)
- Unexpectedly finding a grammar mistake in a blog that you'd love to point out (come across)
- ...
Maybe I should've mentioned stumble upon too.
By the way, sorry about the length of the post. I had to expand it to clarify the context.
Answer
In my experinece you run into people and trouble:
I ran into Betty at the store today. I haven't seen her since college!
I ran into your co-worker Bob today.
Sorry I'm late; I ran into heavy traffic.
You come across objects:
I was cleaning up the kitchen and came across that phone bill you lost.
I was looking up (something) in the encylopedia and came across this interesting tidbit.
I'm not sure I'd use either when talking about a grammar error in a blog; I'd be more likely to say I found or noticed it. I don't know why that is.
No comments:
Post a Comment