I'm confused by the following sentence, which I encountered under the entry for advantage in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English:
When it comes down to working from home, you have to decide if the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
Can someone explain what it means?
I'm confused because in my understanding of English, the phrases "when it comes to", "come to", "come down to", and "when it comes down to it/that" all have different meanings, and I'm not sure which is being applied in this sentence.
It would help me understanding of you could provide other examples based on "when it comes down to doing something …" .
Best Answer
When I say "... it comes down to ..." I am usually introducing a concluding remark, a conclusion, a summary of a preceding longer discussion. When I say "It comes to ..." I am introducing a step along the road or the argument. The insertion of the word "down" suggests a metaphor that parallels "boiling down", reducing, condensing, or similar notions. I therefore disagree with donovan and chasly, both of whom take amore limited view and regard "comes down to" as wrong.