student asking question

Is there a difference in meaning if I say without "comes" here? Like, "if the sky falls down"

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

There is a slight difference! When something "comes down," it goes towards you directly or in your general direction. So, something could "fall down" and be falling away from you or be smaller in size. But when talking about the sky, buildings, rain or snow, all these things can "come falling down," and they don't just "fall down." Metaphorically in the song, "comes falling down" works well since that affects them directly. Ex: The building came falling down. Ex: The rain is coming down outside. => There's a lot of rain Ex: Please don't fall. Be careful walking up the stairs.

Popular Q&As

12/16

Complete the expression with a quiz!