# Directional Verb Complements

A direction verb complement can be formed by an action verb such as 走 zǒu to walk and a word that expresses direction of action such as 进 jìn in or 出 chū out. For instance:

> 走 进 教 室。
> zǒu jìn jiàoshì
> To walk into the classroom.

The following list consists of the single directional words.

Verbs | Directional | complements | Examples
--- | --- | --- | ---
挂 guà to hàng 戴 dài to wear | 上shang up, on | 挂 上 地图 guà shang dì tú To hang up the map. 戴 上 帽 子 dài shang màozi To put on the hat. |
放 fàng to put | 下xià down | 放 下 书 fàng xia shū To put down the book. |
走 zǒu to walk 拿 ná to take 开 kāi to drive | 进 jìn in | 车 开 进了学 院 chē kāi jìn le xuéyuàn The car has been driven into the college. |
走 zǒu to walk 拿 ná to take 开 kāi to drive | 出 chū out | 走 出 教 室 zǒu chū jiàoshì To walk out of the classroom. |
走 zǒu to walk 拿 ná to take 开 kāi to drive 寄 jì to post | 回 huí back | 拿 回 家 ná huí jiā To take (bring) it back home. 寄回 中 国 jì huí Zhōngguó To post it back to China. |
走 zǒu to walk 开 kāi to drive | 过 guò across, past, over | 走 过 了书 店 zǒu guò le shūdiàn Walked pass the bookshop. |

A directional verb complement can also be formed without an action verb by a directional word with 来 lái to come or去 qù to go. Both 来 lái and 去 qù indicate the position of the speaker. 来 lái to come indicates that the direction is moving towards the speaker and 去 qù to go indicates that the direction is moving away from the speaker. For instance, if your teachers are having a meeting in the classroom and you are outside, you might advise your fellow students:

> 别 进 去
> bié jìn qù
> Don’t go in.

Another type of directional verb complement is called the combined directional verb complement. This is formed by an action verb, a directional word and 来 lái to come or 去 qù to go as in:

> 走 进来
> zǒujìnlái
> Walking in.

来 lái to come in the above phrase indicates that the direction of 进 jìn entering is moving towards the speaker, in other words the speaker is in the room. Adirect object is often inserted into a combined directional complement. Let’s introduce a subject and an object to the above phrase.

> 小 王 走 进 了 教 室 来。
> Xiǎo Wáng zǒu jìn le jiàoshì lái
> Xiao Wang walked into the classroom. (The speaker is in the classroom.)

来 lái to come implies that the action is moving towards the speaker. In other words, the speaker is in the classroom. You may also have noticed that the aspect particle 了 le is placed after the directional word 进 jìn in. The following list consists of combined directional complements.

Verbs | Directional complements | Examples
--- | --- | ---
跑 pǎo to run 走 zǒu to walk 拿 ná to take 开 kāi to drive | 上来/去 shàng lái /qù on | 小 王 跑 上 了 山 去。 Xiǎo Wáng pǎo shàng le shān qù Xiao Wang ran up the mountain. (The speaker is at the bottom of the mountain.) 小 丁 拿 上 了一 杯 茶 来。 Xiǎo Dīng ná shàng le yì bēi chá lái Xiao Ding brought up a cup of tea. (The speaker is upstairs.)
走 zǒu to walk 跑 pǎo to run 拿 ná to take 开 kāi to drive | 下来/去 xiàlái /qù down | 他走 下 了楼 来。 tā zǒu xià le lóu lái He walked down from upstairs. (The speaker is downstairs.)
走 zǒu to walk 跑 pǎo to run 拿 ná to take 开 kāi to drive | 进来/去 jìn lái /qù in | 别 走 进 公 园 去。bié zǒu jìn gongyuán qù Don’t go into the park. (The speaker is outside park.)
走 zǒu to walk 跑 pǎo to run 拿 ná to take 开 kāi to drive | 出来/去 chū lái /qù out | 她 走 出 了 房 间 来。 tā zǒu chū le fangjiān lái She walked out of the room. (The speaker is outside the room.)
走 zǒu to walk 跑 pǎo to run 拿 ná to take 开 kāi to drive | 回来/去 huí lái /qù back | 我 跑 回 了 家 去。 wǒ pǎo huí le jiā qù I ran home. (The speaker is away from home.)
走 zǒu to walk 跑 pǎo to run 拿 ná to take 开 kāi to drive | 过来/去 guò lái /qù across, past, over | 她 拿 过 了一本 书 来。(她 拿 过 来了一本 书 。) tā ná guòle yì běn shū lái ( tā ná guòlái le yì běn shū ) She brought over a book.
站 zhàn to stand | 起来 qǐ lái up (去qù is not used with 起qǐ) | 你们 都 站 起来。 nǐmen dōu zhàn qǐlái You all stand up.

Assignments Frequently asked questions Click on the following links to view the answers

1. What are directional complements?
2. What are the functions of 来 and 去 in directional complements?
3. Can a direction word and 来 or 去 be used together?
4. Can you show me a list of combined directional complements?
5. Can I use a combined directional complement as the main verb in a sentence?
6. When do I use the full version of directional verb complements in sentences?
7. Where should I place the directional verb complements in a sentence?
8. Where should I place a 了 for completed action when I use a directional complement?
9. Can the particle 着 be used with a directional complement?
10. Can the particle 过 be used with a directional complement?
11. Where should I place the object of a sentence if a directional verb complement is used?
12. I have seen some sentences with combined directional complements and complex objects, where 来 or 去 are placed after the complex objects. Can you tell me the reason for this?