▎Directional Constructions V1 V2 and V1 V2 V3

 

Function When a movement is referred to in Chinese, it is necessary to further indicate a direction towards or away from the speaker, the reference point, indicated by V2 or V3. All V1, V2 or V3 are basically verbs themselves. They function differently in combinations.

 

Structures There are two major directional constructions, V1V2 and V1V2 V3.

(1) Direction＋Reference (V1V2)

 

Direction	Reference
上 shàng ‘up’ 下 xià ‘down’ 進 jìn ‘into’ 出 chū ‘out of’ 回 huí ‘back to’ 過 guò ‘over’	來 lái ‘towards me’ 去 qù ‘away from me’

1 爸爸出去了。

Bàba chūqù le.

Dad went out.

2 他從火車站東邊的門進去。

Tā cóng huǒchē zhàn dōngbiān de mén jìnqù.

He went in through the entrance on the east side of train station.

3 我的房東還沒回來。

Wǒ de fángdōng hái méi huílái.

My landlord has not returned yet.

(2) Movement＋Direction＋Reference (V1 V2 V3)

 

Verb	Direction	Reference
走 zǒu ‘walk’ 跑 pǎo ‘run’ 站 zhàn ‘stand’ 坐 zuò ‘sit’ 拿 ná ‘take’ 追 zhuī ‘chase’ 帶 dài ‘carry, bring’ 開 kāi ‘open, turn on’ etc.	上 shàng ‘up’ 下 xià ‘down’ 進 jìn ‘into’	來 lái ‘to, toward the speaker’ 去 qù ‘to, away from the speaker’ 出 chū ‘out off’ 回 huí ‘back’ 過 guò ‘over, past’ 起 qǐ ‘upward’ etc.

1 弟弟從樓下跑上來。

Dìdi cóng lóuxià pǎo shànglái.

The younger brother ran up from downstairs.

2 我剛看見房東走出去，不知道他要去哪裡。

Wǒ gāng kànjiàn fángdōng zǒu chūqù, bù zhīdào tā yào qù nǎlǐ.

I just saw the landlord walk out. I don’t know where he was going.

3 這麼多東西，我怎麼帶回去呢？

Zhème duō dōngxi, wǒ zěnme dài huíqù ne?

So many things! How am I going to bring them all back?

4 這個學校，公車可以開進去。

Zhè ge xuéxiào, gōngchē kěyǐ kāi jìnqù.

Buses can drive into this school.

(3) Placement of a Destination: The destination of a movement is inserted before the reference, i.e., V1＋V2＋destination＋V3.

1 這些書，請你幫我拿上樓去。

Zhèxiē shū, qǐng nǐ bāng wǒ náshàng lóu qù.

Please take these books upstairs for me.

2 在展覽館拿的資料都得帶回美國去。

Zài zhǎnlǎn guǎn ná de zīliào dōu děi dàihuí Měiguó qù.

All the information collected at the exhibition needs to be taken back to America.

3 垃圾呢？拿回家去了嗎？

Lèsè ne? Náhuí jiā qù le ma?

And the garbage? Did you take it home?

4 這個椅子要搬下樓去嗎？

Zhè ge yǐzi yào bānxià lóu qù ma?

Does this chair need to be moved downstairs?

5 媽媽告訴他錢要記得放進皮包裡去。

Māma gàosù tā qián yào jìde fàngjìn píbāo lǐ qù.

Mom told him to remember to put his money into his wallet.

Negation：V1 can be negated by either 不/別 bù/bié or 沒méi. 沒 refers to past, occurred, instances.

1 他訂的手機還沒拿回來。

Tā dìng de shǒujī hái méi ná huílái.

He hasn’t gone to get the cell phone he ordered.

2 我太累了，不走上去了。

Wǒ tài lèi le, bù zǒu shàngqù le.

I’m too tired and am not going to walk all the way up there.

3 要考試了，你別跑出去了！

Yào kǎoshì le, nǐ bié pǎo chūqù le!

You have a test coming up. Don’t you go out!

Questions：

1 垃圾車就在前面，你為什麼不追過去？

Lèsè chē jiù zài qiánmiàn, nǐ wèishénme bù zhuī guòqù?

The garbage truck is right in front of us. Why don’t you run over to it?

2 我不喜歡臭豆腐，請你拿出去，好嗎？

Wǒ bù xǐhuān chòudòufǔ, qǐng nǐ ná chūqù, hǎo ma?

I don’t like stinky tofu. Please take it out of here, OK?

3 你沒看見公車開過來嗎？

Nǐ méi kànjiàn gōngchē kāi guòlái ma?

Didn’t you see the bus heading this way?

 

Usage When the aspect 了 is used, it is placed after V1, the primary movement verb.

1 他從家裡走了出來。

Tā cóng jiālǐ zǒule chūlái.

He walked out of his house.

2 公車開了過去。

Gōngchē kāile guòqù.

The bus drove by.

3 小明在夜市看見小美，就趕快追了過去。

Xiǎomíng zài yèshì kànjiàn Xiǎoměi, jiù gǎnkuài zhuīle guòqù.

Xiaoming caught up to Xiaomei when he saw her at the night market.