来る・くる (2)

Auxiliary Verb (Irregular) (Basic ㊦ 221)

An auxiliary verb which indicates the beginning of some process or continuation of some action up to a current point of time.

Equivalent: Come about; grow; come to; begin to

私はコンピューターが少し分かって来た・来ました。: Now I have begun to understand computers.
私は色々日本の歴史書を読んで来た・来ました。: Up to now I've been reading various Japanese histories.
テニスをしていたら急に雨が降って来た。: Suddenly, while we were playing tennis, it began to rain.
午後から頭が痛くなって来ました。: My head began to ache in the afternoon. / My headache started in the afternoon.
私はこの頃太って来ました。: I've started to gain weight these days.
あの子はこの頃随分奇麗になって来たね。: That girl has become very pretty lately, hasn't she?
今までたくさん本を読んで来ましたが、これからも読んで行くつもりです。: Up to now I have read quite a few books and I intend to read from now on, too.
今まで遊んで来ましたが、これからは一生懸命勉強するつもりです。: Up to now I haven’t been working hard (literally: have been playing), but from now on I intend to work very hard.

Formation

(i) Vて	来る
	膨らんで来る	Something begins/has begun to swell
	大きくなって来る	Something begins/has begun to grow big

Notes

1. Verbて来る expresses inception as in Examples (a) through (d), or continuation of something up to a current point of time, as in Examples (e) and (f). In the former case the Verb is a verb that indicates a process that takes some time to complete, such as なる 'become', 分かる 'understand', 太る 'gain weight', 痩せる 'lose weight', 膨らむ 'swell' and 縮む 'shrink'. In the latter case the Verb is any non-punctual verb.

2. In the following sentences 来る is used more as a full verb than as an auxiliary verb. The meaning of Verbて来る is the same as that of Verbて (i.e., 'Verb and') and of 来る.

(⇨ 来る1)

私は会社にバスに乗って来ます。
Literally: I ride a bus and come to my company. (= I come to work by bus.)

四時までには帰って来てください。
Literally: Please return and come here by 4:00. (= Please come back by 4:00.)

おいしいケーキを買って来ました。
Literally: I bought a delicious cake and came here. (= I bought you a delicious cake.)

友達をうちに連れて来た。
I brought my friends to my house.

あの本持って来た？
Did you bring that book (Literally: carry that book and come)?

ちょっと見て来るよ。
Literally: I'll just look and come back here. (= I'll just go and take a look at it.)

傘を取って来ます。
Literally: I'll get my umbrella and come back here. (= I'll go and get my umbrella.)

3. Note that the experiencer of the inception process or the continuation of the action must be the speaker himself or someone with whom the speaker empathizes. In other words, in this usage, what is expressed by Verbて来る involves the speaker in a very intimate way.

【Related Expression】

When 来る2 means inception (the beginning of a process, that is), it is very close to Verbます始める 'begin to ~' Examples (a) through (d) can all be paraphrased using Verbます始める. However, 来る implies that something happens to the speaker or whomever he can empathize with, whereas Verbます始める lacks the speakers involvement with a process of inception.

(⇨ 始める)