HSKReadyGet the appHSK 2 · Sentence components › Complement › Directional complements 1
Simple Directional Complements with 来 and 去 (动词+来/去)
In Mandarin, placing 来 (lái) or 去 (qù) after an action verb forms a simple directional complement that shows whether an action moves toward or away from the speaker. Mastering this pattern requires tracking your reference point and placing location objects before the directional word.
小狗跑来了。
来 shows that the puppy's running moved toward the speaker.
× 姐姐回去学校了。
Not the target order for the standard verb–place–direction frame taught here. Use 回学校去, placing 学校 between 回 and 去. Do not generalize this correction to 去学校, where 去 is the main verb.
Corrected example: 姐姐回学校去了。
Read the full explanation and examples
What Simple Directional Complements Do
In the HSK Level 2 grammar syllabus, simple directional complements (简单趋向补语) begin with the pattern Verb + 来/去 used in its literal directional sense. In a Chinese sentence, a complement (补语) appears after the main verb to give extra information about the action. When you attach 来 (lái) or 去 (qù) to a verb, they do not act as independent main verbs meaning 'to come' or 'to go'. Instead, they serve as directional markers showing which way the subject or object moves in relation to the speaker or current reference point.
- Verb + 来 (lái): The action moves toward the speaker's location (or the viewpoint adopted in the conversation).
- Verb + 去 (qù): The action moves away from the speaker's location toward another place.
Common verbs used in this structure at the elementary level include motion verbs like 走 (zǒu, walk), 跑 (pǎo, run), 进 (jìn, enter), 出 (chū, exit), 回 (huí, return), 上 (shàng, ascend), and 下 (xià, descend), as well as handling or transaction verbs that cause an item to move, such as 带 (dài, bring/take), 拿 (ná, hold/take), 买 (mǎi, buy), and 送 (sòng, deliver/send).
小狗跑来了。
来 shows that the puppy's running moved toward the speaker.
他已经回去了。
回 is the main action “return”; 去 places the return away from the adopted reference point.
Word Order with Place Objects
The most important syntactic restriction for Verb + 来/去 involves objects that denote a location or destination—such as 学校 (xuéxiào, school), 房间 (fángjiān, room), 家 (jiā, home), or 北京 (Běijīng). When the verb takes a place object, that place object must sit between the main verb and 来/去. It cannot be placed after 来 or 去.
In the examples below, take the room as the reference point for 来 and a point outside the school for 去. This makes the directions clear. In a larger narrative or conversation, the adopted viewpoint can differ from the speaker’s physical location.
弟弟进房间来了。
The place object 房间 (room) must be placed between the verb 进 and the complement 来. The speaker is inside the room.
姐姐回学校去了。
Correct: the destination 学校 (school) stands before 去. The speaker is not at the school.
× 姐姐回去学校了。
Not the target order for the standard verb–place–direction frame taught here. Use 回学校去, placing 学校 between 回 and 去. Do not generalize this correction to 去学校, where 去 is the main verb.
Corrected example: 姐姐回学校去了。
Word Order with General Objects (Things and People)
When the verb is a transitive action like 买 (mǎi, buy), 带 (dài, bring/take), or 拿 (ná, take/fetch), the object is usually a movable item or person rather than a place. With these general objects, Mandarin allows two word orders.
While both positions exist in natural speech, there is a helpful tendency. When the action is already completed and the object includes a number or quantifier (such as 一些水果, 'some fruit', or 一本书, 'a book'), speakers normally place 来/去 (often followed by 了) directly after the verb, putting the object at the end. When speaking about a planned, habitual, or imperative action with a simple bare noun (such as 带伞去, 'take an umbrella along'), placing the object before 来/去 is very common.
妈妈买来了一些水果。
With a quantified movable object (一些水果), placing the object after 买来(了) is natural.
出门的时候，别忘了带伞去。
With a bare movable noun (伞) in a reminder about going out, placing the object between 带 and 去 is natural.
Distinguishing Verb + 来/去 from Neighbouring Complements
Because Chinese uses several types of complements right after the verb, it is important to separate the literal directional meaning of Verb + 来/去 from related patterns in the syllabus:
- Versus Result Complements (结果补语, e.g., 买完, 听懂): Result complements show the outcome or completion of an action (buying until finished, listening and understanding). Verb + 来/去 (e.g., 买来) does not focus on completion alone; it specifies physical movement of the item toward the speaker.
- Versus Other Simple Directional Complements (动词+上/下/进/出/过/回): Words like 进 (enter) or 回 (return) can themselves serve as directional complements after another verb (such as 走进, 'walk in'), showing the path relative to a boundary or space. In contrast, 来 and 去 always anchor the direction to the speaker's viewpoint. (When combined together, such as 走进来, they form compound directional complements, which are treated as a separate grammar point.)
- In 跑得很快, structural 得 introduces an evaluation of running. The basic directional form 跑来 attaches 来 directly and means “run towards the reference point”. Related potential forms can use 得/不 to express ability, which is a different construction; the basic directional meaning does not require 得.
Frequently asked questions
What if I am talking on the phone with someone at another location?
Use the viewpoint established in the conversation. A clear baseline on the phone is 我明天去你那儿 (“I will go to your place tomorrow”), with 去 relative to your own location. A conversation or narrative can adopt another reference point, so 来/去 alone does not prove where the speaker is physically standing.
In 进房间来, is 进来 a compound directional complement?
No. In 进房间来, 进 (jìn, enter) is the main action verb taking the object 房间, and 来 is a simple directional complement. It becomes a compound directional complement only when another action verb precedes both of them, such as 走进来 (walk in).
