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Most people automatically assume that the words come and go are accurately translated by vir and ir. Even those speakers who employ these words flawlessly in English and Portuguese are generally surprised at the realization that the pairs come and vir and go and ir are not always equivalent. Before dealing with the differences involved in the use of these words, let us take a look at the similarities. First of all, these four verbs are verbs of movement and, as such, imply that someone, at a time T1, is at a place P1 and that this same someone, at a time T2, is at a place P2. In other words, P1 can be said to be the place of procedence and P2, the place of destination; T1 is obviously a time prior to T2. The person moving from one place to another is the grammatical subject of the sentence (hereafter referred to as the Subject). (1.1) Sally came from Denver to Brasília. (2.1) George is going from Rio to Boston. In each of these sentences, Sally and George function as the Subject, Denver and Rio, as P1, and Brasília and Boston, as P2. The time of Sally's and George's respective departures from Denver and from Rio is expressed by T1, and the time of their respective arrivals in Brasília and in Boston is expressed by T2. The different uses of the verbs in question become evident when we consider not only P1 and P2, T1 and T2, and the Subject, but also the person uttering the sentence, as well as the person listening to the utterance, and, in some cases, the time of utterance (hereafter referred to as the Speaker, the Listener, and Tu, respectively). The choice between vir and ir depends on the location of the Speaker. Thus vir is used whenever the Speaker is at P2 and ir is used whenever the Speaker is not at P2 (making no difference whether the Speaker is at P1 or elsewhere). In, contrast, the choice between come and go depends not only on the location of the Speaker, but also on the location of the Listener. Hence, whereas ir is used when the Speaker is not at P2, go is used when neither the Speaker nor the Listener is at P2. By the same token, while vir is used when the Speaker is at P2, come is used when either the Speaker or the Listener is at P2, or else when both the Speaker and the Listener, are at P2.
Below is a simplified version of the chart above. If the Speaker and the Listener are at different places, as, for example, when they are talking on the phone, movement toward the Speaker will be expressed by vir and movement toward either the Speaker or the Listener will be expressed by come.
The following examples will help illustrate the different instances in which these four verbs are used.
(3.1) We enjoyed Disneyworld so much that we plan to go there again. (4.1) Joe is going to Disneyworld on the 8 o'clock flight. (5:1) Alex always goes to the University at this time. (6.1) When man first went to the Moon, I was still a child.
(7.1) We hope Ella Fitzgerald can come to Brasília some day. (8.1) Fred is coming to Brasília on flight 714. (9.1) Since I broke my leg, my doctor has come to see me every day. (10.1) Before I moved to Brasília, my sister had already come here in order to study at Casa Thomas Jefferson.
(11.1) Barbara will be coming to your house this weekend to study with you for the math test. (12.1) Anne, I'm calling to say that the plumber is coming to fix your faucet now. (13.1) Why do you always get home in a bad mood every time Sam comes to see you at the office? (14.1) Someone said Bernard came to your place last week and helped you finish that bottle of imported wine I had given you. Is that true?
(15.1) Since you're not feeling well, my wife will come to your house to make lunch for you. (16.1) My boyfriend was jealous because I came to your house every night last week to watch TV with you. (17.1) Why are you always wearing a suit when I come to your house?
(18.1.a) At the time we lived in Spokane, I really enjoyed it when my uncle Pete came to visit us. (19.1.a) Will you come visit me in Boulder when I start studying at the University of Colorado? (20.1.a) Roberta has promised to come to Frankfurt once we move there and are all settled. In sentences (18.1) to (20.1), the Speaker will choose between come and go depending on whether or not he mentally situates himself at P2 during Tu. It is evident from all the examples given so far that it does not matter where the Listener is during Tu, unless Tu and T2 are equivalent. The last aspect determining the usage of these four verbs is that of company. In such instances the choice may be come if the Speaker is at P2 T2. Either the Listener (functioning as the Subject) or the Subject him/herself may move toward P2 in the company of the Speaker, as in (21.1) and (22.1); otherwise, both the Listener and the Subject move together toward P2, independently of the Speaker (whose ultimate destination, as mentioned above, is P2), as in (23.1). Should the idea of company be irrelevant, go may also be used. In Portuguese, however, the choice may be vir only if the notion of company is implied within an immediate future, as in (21.2), or else if Pu (place of utterance) is near or equivalent to P2. In all other instances, ir is preferred. (21.1) We're going to the movies (tomorrow). Would you like to come (with us)? (22.1.1) Believe it or not, Philip is coming to Mary's party with me! (23.1) I didn't see Melanie at the soccer game yesterday. Did she come with you, as she said she would? We hope to have shed some light upon the different uses of come and go as opposed to vir and ir. We feel it is relevant to mention that, in the course of our research, we have come to realize that the pairs bring and take and levar and trazer function in much the same way as the verbs here dealt with. In other words, there is no guarantee that we bring everything que trazemos or take everything que levamos. ©1984-2005-LanGServices & P.Hallstein 
AUTHORS' NOTES: We would like to thank Dr. Lúcia Lobato, Professor of Linguistics at the University of Brasília, researcher and author, for having planted in us the seed of curiosity about the uses of these verbs of movement.
SOURCE: CTJ Journal, American Language, Linguistics, Literature, Methodology, No.10, December, 1984, Brasília, D.F., Brazil.
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