Grammar Explanation
In Chinese, “来” and “去” can express both motion (come/go) and direction (here/there).
| S | V |
|---|---|
| nǐ | lái |
| 你 | 来。 |
You come (here).
| wǒ | qù |
| 我 | 去。 |
I go (there).
“来” and “去” can also be used as suffixes themselves to 6 special verbs of motion, but still retaining the meaning of motion and direction in relation to the speaker. These 6 special verbs of motion are 上， 下， 出，进， 回， 过.
| 上来 shànɡ lái | to come up (here) | |
| 下来 xià lái | to come down (here) | |
| 出来 chū lái | to come out (here) | |
| 进来 jìn lái | to come in (here) | |
| 回来 huí lái | to come back (here) | |
| 过来 ɡuò lái | to come over (here) | |
| 上去 shànɡ qù | to go up (there) | |
| 下去 xià qù | to go down (there) | |
| 出去 chū qù | to go out (there) | |
| 进去 jìn qù | to go in (there) | |
| 回去 huí qù | to go back (there) | |
| 过去 ɡuò qù | to go over (there) |
| S | V | 来/去 |
|---|---|---|
| nǐ | jìn | lái！ |
| 你 | 进 | 来！ |
You come in!
| tāde zhànɡfu | méi huí | lái. |
| 她的 丈夫 | 没 回 | 来。 |
Her husband hasn’t come back.
| shuí | chū | qù le？ |
| 谁 | 出 | 去 了？ |
Who went out?