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How should I use came and just now together to say: I have already come but only a few minutes back?

I came just now.

or

I just now came.

ScotM
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miracles
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    The newly-edited version of the question renders many of the comments meaningless. – wys1wyg Mar 11 '15 at 05:40
  • Comparing I came just now. and I just now came. is a meaningful discussion, but I just now come. is not a native expression. – ScotM Mar 11 '15 at 05:43
  • My actual question is between, I came just now and just now come. The edited one serves no purpose. – miracles Mar 11 '15 at 06:55

1 Answers1

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Assuming that you're speaking of having arrived somewhere only a moment ago, the most idiomatic way to say this in American English is "I just got here." Saying "I've just come" or "I came just now" can sound awkward or may be misinterpreted, depending on the situation.

Gary Clay Rector
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  • I agree. But leaving apart awkwardness, can I casually say "I came home just now". I want to know whether its grammatically correct to use a past tense verb with just now. – miracles Mar 11 '15 at 04:45
  • Here too, "I just got home" or "I've just gotten home" would be more idiomatic, although your sentence is not incorrect in most varieties of North American English. If I were forced to use come rather than get, I'd move the avberbial phrase just now forward and say "I've just now come home." – Gary Clay Rector Mar 11 '15 at 04:49
  • Yes, @miracles, it's grammatically correct to use "just now" with a past tense verb. This is just an unfortunate example because of the sexual connotations of this particular phrase. – wys1wyg Mar 11 '15 at 05:23
  • Actually, it occurs to me that you cannot say "I come home just now." – wys1wyg Mar 11 '15 at 05:26
  • The present perfect, I have* come home just now, would work just fine. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Present_perfect: "The present perfect is a grammatical combination of the present tense and the perfect aspect, used to express a past event that has present consequences." Where you add the adverbial phrase, just now* is of no consequence in this situation: I have just now come home, works ok too. – ScotM Mar 11 '15 at 05:51