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How to Use "Come"/"Cum" (As a Verb)

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The rules depend on which spelling you’re going to use. The traditional spelling is “come”, but some people prefer “cum” (probably to distinguish it from the regular, non-sexual meaning of “come”).

If you’re going to use “come”, then the rules are the same as for the regular meaning. People usually get them right, but a lot of times (for both meanings) people write “have/has/had/should’ve/would’ve/could’ve came”. No, if you have a form of the verb “have” (“have”, “has”, or “had”, including ’ve contractions), the past participle (yes, that’s what it’s called) is come. That’s right. “They come, they have come.” It’s like “run”: “They run, they have/has/had run [not ran].”

If you’re using the “cum” spelling, you have a few more options. For simple past tense, you can use the irregular form “came” or the regular form “cummed”, though I encounter “came” more often.

The past participle, as I’ve encountered it, is almost always “cummed”. Maybe it should be “cum”, but I guess “I have cum” is too awkward.

TL;DR version: It’s either:

  • They come, they came, they have come; or
  • They cum, they came/cummed, they have cummed.