▎Repetition of Verbs, as in V 來 V 去, (V lái V qù) , repetitively, back and forth

 

Function This pattern is used with action verbs and indicates repetitive execution, oftentimes in vain.

1 孩子總是喜歡打來打去，你別擔心。

Háizi zǒngshì xǐhuān dǎlái dǎqù, nǐ bié dānxīn.

Kids are always hitting each other. It’s nothing to worry about.

2 他很講究吃，他說吃來吃去還是台南的牛肉湯最好喝。

Tā hěn jiǎngjiù chī, tā shuō chīlái chīqù háishì Táinán de niúròu tāng zuì hǎohē.

He’s very particular about what he eats. He says he’s eaten around and he still feels that the beef soup in Tainan is the best.

3 他們想來想去，最後決定帶狗去旅行。不送牠去狗旅館住。

Tāmen xiǎnglái xiǎngqù, zuìhòu juédìng dài gǒu qù lǚxíng. Bú sòng tā qù gǒu lǚguǎn zhù.

After thinking about it for a while, they decided to bring their dog along with them on their trip and not put him in a dog hotel.

4 他想換襯衫，可是換來換去都不適合。最後只好穿原來的。

Tā xiǎng huàn chènshān, kěshì huànlái huànqù dōu bú shìhé. Zuìhòu zhǐhǎo chuān yuánlái de.

He wanted to change a shirt, but he changed several times and none of them were a good fit. In the end, he had no choice but to return to his original shirt.

5 老闆在辦公室裡走來走去，不知道在想什麼？

Lǎobǎn zài bàngōngshì li zǒulái zǒuqù, bù zhīdào zài xiǎng shénme?

The manager was pacing back and forth in his office. Don’t know what was bothering him.

 

Usage

(1) If there is an object, it must be moved to the front of the sentence, as a topic.

E.g.,

1 電腦，我不想帶來帶去，累死了。

Diànnǎo, wǒ bù xiǎng dàilái dàiqù, lèi sǐle.

I don’t want to carry my computer around. It’s exhausting.

2 他寫的文章，看來看去都跟文學有關。

Tā xiě de wénzhāng, kànlái kànqù dōu gēn wénxué yǒuguān.

After reading a lot of his articles it turns out they’re all about literature.

(2) The V 來 V 去 structure is followed by some kind of comments by the speaker. In other words, this pattern does not end an utterance. E.g.,

這幾個辦法，他想來想去，都覺得不好。

Zhè jǐ ge bànfǎ, tā xiǎnglái xiǎngqù, dōu juéde bù hǎo.

After tossing the methods about in his mind for a while, he feels that none of them are any good.

S語法