VerbsHSK 3
Directional verbs 来 and 去
来 (come) indicates movement towards the speaker, while 去 (go) indicates movement away from the speaker. Both verbs are placed directly before a place noun to specify the destination. Be careful to use 来 when the destination is the speaker's current location, and 去 for locations away from both speaker and listener.
Structure
来 + Place
去 + Place
Examples
- 妈妈要去超市。Mā ma yào qù chāo shì.Mom will go to the supermarket.
- 老板今天来公司吗？Lǎo bǎn jīn tiān lái gōng sī ma?Is the boss coming into the office today?
- 你现在来南京路吧。Nǐ xiàn zài lái nán jīng lù ba.Come to Nanjing Road now.
- 周末我喜欢去朋友家。Zhōu mò wǒ xǐ huan qù péng you jiā.I like to go to my friends' places on the weekends.
- 我今天不上班，你们可以来我家吃饭。Wǒ jīn tiān bú shàng bān, nǐ men kě yǐ lái wǒ jiā chī fàn.I don't have to go to work today. You can come to my home to eat dinner.
Words that use this
- 来láito come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回来); ever since (as in 自古以来); for the past (amount of time); (prefix) the coming ...; the next ... (as in 来世); (between two verbs) in order to; (after a round number) approximately; (used after 得 to indicate possibility, as in 谈得来, or after 不 to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不来)
- 去qùto go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part); (when used either before or after a verb) to go in order to do sth; (after a verb of motion indicates movement away from the speaker); (used after certain verbs to indicate detachment or separation)