English question - "Coming back" vs. "Returning"
By vanny
@vandana7 (100540)
India
November 5, 2021 11:01pm CST
I may have learned back to mean the one with my vertebral column before I learned what back yard was.
So the mind pulls up that back when the word is used.
I am also left to wonder why people use "coming back" instead of using "returning". Returning sounds more logical because it has that turning part.
Nowadays, I find that even I am using "coming back", and I feel kinda..I did not type that, did I?
So when the Terminator used "I'll be back", I thought it should have been "I'll return".
Can anybody explain which of the two is correct, and which is better? There is simply too much confusion up there in my brain.
18 people like this
19 responses
@Fleura (30539)
• United Kingdom
6 Nov 21
This kind of thing is a minefield!
As @LadyDuck says, you can use 'return' for something like a parcel. You could say you returned a package or letter, or returned an item to the shop, to mean that you sent it back or gave it back.
Otherwise it means basically the same thing as 'come back' or 'go back' although I would say it sounds rather more formal. For example someone might say 'I'm just popping to the shop, I'll be back in a minute'. If they said 'I'm just popping to the shop, I'll return in a minute' it would seem odd, although it's perfectly correct.
You can return to a place from which you left (which would be the same as going back), or return from a place where you have been (which would be the same as coming from there). You can come back to the place where you are (you only use this if you are in that place).
You would use return in formal writing, for example if you were describing some process such as decomposition, you might say that 'as leaves rot the nutrients return to the earth'.
Not sure if this is helping or just adding to the confusion 
10 people like this
This is what I thought, it is correct also for a person, but it sounds odd. Not a term I would use.
@xander6464 (44387)
• Wapello, Iowa
6 Nov 21
I don't have any answers for you...Well, you know that cause you know I'm blonde...but if it makes you feel any better, Doug McArthur said, "I shall return," when he was leaving the Philippines.
8 people like this
@xander6464 (44387)
• Wapello, Iowa
6 Nov 21
@vandana7 I don't know anything about British English or Americans but if that speech qualified Doug as a speaker of British English, then I guess it is so. I'm pretty sure he was an American.
3 people like this
@vandana7 (100540)
• India
6 Nov 21
@xander6464 He must have had British wife or at least a girlfriend to impress whom he may have learned the true English.
1 person likes this
@ptrikha_2 (47064)
• India
6 Nov 21
"Coming back" looks more polished as compared to "Returning".
And in case of Arnie - it was more dramatic to use " I'll be back" !!
My proverbial two cents.
6 people like this
@vandana7 (100540)
• India
6 Nov 21
@Fleura Highbrow? I always wondered why it is reverse in cars. Why not return? In fact, if you have a word like return, why reversal is needed at all. Right now, I need a way out of this confused state of mind. English can really play havoc with my mind. It is so challenging.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (472004)
• Switzerland
6 Nov 21
I think that this is a questions for @owlwings.
Return means give, put, or send (something) back to a place or person.
I would use return for a letter or a package (the letter was returned to the sender).
I would never say "I will return later", but "I will come back later".
6 people like this
@vandana7 (100540)
• India
6 Nov 21
I returned from Goa trip? When did you come back from Italy? Or when did you return from Italy? The word turn within return sort of makes it acceptable to me. Come to think of it, come back soon is something I hear so often. Return soon is not what I get to hear. Wonder which is the correct usage.
3 people like this
@Fleura (30539)
• United Kingdom
6 Nov 21
@vandana7 I returned from Goa trip? When did you come back from Italy? Or when did you return from Italy? - yes any of those is fine! I think 'I returned from (the or my) Goa trip' is probably better than 'I came back from (the or my) Goa trip' but on the other hand you might be more likely to say 'I came back from Goa'. I think there is a subtle difference between a 'process' (in this case a trip) and a 'place' (Goa).
3 people like this
@LindaOHio (181320)
• United States
6 Nov 21
They are all interchangeable. The Terminator wouldn't have sounded so menacing if he would have said, "I'll return".
3 people like this
@ptrikha_2 (47064)
• India
7 Nov 21
@LindaOHio
I'll be back-- sounds more dramatic as well!
2 people like this
@sulynsi (2671)
• Canada
6 Nov 21
I would like to offer my congratulations!
When I see someone whose first language is not English, using expressions like this, that are colloquial in nature, using them naturally, it makes me think they have become very fluent.
I have a friend whose first language is German but he constantly impresses me with his grasp of English nuances and puns.
True fluency in any language is an accomplishment!
1 person likes this
@sulynsi (2671)
• Canada
6 Nov 21
@vandana7 To come back, to go back, to make a comeback - these are all perfectly acceptable.
I might even use them interchangeably when writing for variety.
Synonyms and synonomous expressions are wonderful. They also lend themselves to the poetic.
1 person likes this
@sprite1950 (30452)
• Corsham, England
6 Nov 21
I'm English and I would be happy to use either of these. I can see that Fleur has explained it perfectly so I won't go into an explanation.
3 people like this
@Orson_Kart (6827)
• United Kingdom
6 Nov 21
Depends who you ask…
Celine Dion would tell you “it’s all coming back”
Elvis would recommend “return to sender”
If I can add any further guidance then I’ll get back to you. 
2 people like this
@RebeccasFarm (90294)
• Arvada, Colorado
6 Nov 21
English..such confusion I tell you
1 person likes this
@vandana7 (100540)
• India
6 Nov 21
@RebeccasFarm Come on Oshy...I am more honest than that. :)
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (90294)
• Arvada, Colorado
6 Nov 21
@vandana7 But you are most excellent speaking and typing it here Vanny, better than some natives
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (37369)
• Toccoa, Georgia
6 Nov 21
Since English is my native language, both of those are correct to use. I never even thought about the confusion until I read what you wrote above.
2 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (107900)
• Marion, Ohio
6 Nov 21
I see a couple of people explained it. I will not try as they confused me
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@vandana7 (100540)
• India
6 Nov 21
@wolfgirl569 You all have slang, you all have colloquial, and you all have usages and expressions based on your movies, tv serials, whatever. How is the rest of the world expected to know everything at your end? LOL
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (107900)
• Marion, Ohio
6 Nov 21
@vandana7 I grew up with it. Many times I have thought it very confusing. So I really feel for people trying to learn the language. I also understand why we have so much slang terms here,
1 person likes this
@porwest (92463)
• United States
6 Nov 21
They are almost one in the same and can be used universally. One of the facets of the English language I suppose, that you can say the same thing in many different ways.
Even if you return something to the store, some people will say, "I will bring it back." It just depends on the person, the context, and the vernacular.
As for The Terminator, had he said "I'll return," the line in the movie would have been far less memorable than what he actually said.
2 people like this
@just4him (317249)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
9 Nov 21
Think about it this way. I will be back and I will return. The emphasis is on the word be in I will be back. To me, it's more emphatic. He intends to return. In I will return, I don't hear a definite decision. Even though he says I WILL return. I will be back or I'll be back has a threat to it. Like beware, I'm coming back. I don't hear a threat in I'll return.
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