Verb + Direction Word + 嚟/去 + Place

Directional with a Place

Level 3Sounds Like heoi3

Use Verb + Directional Particle + 嚟/去 + Location to describe moving to a place. In Cantonese, the location is placed at the very end, after the directional complex.

How It Works

This pattern, known as the Compound Directional Complement, allows you to describe movement with a specific perspective relative to the speaker. Unlike Mandarin, Cantonese places the destination after the final 'come' or 'go' particle.

Formula Comparison:
• Mandarin: V + Dir + Loc + 來/去
• Cantonese: V + Dir + 嚟/去 + (Loc)

Structure:
1. Verb (V): The action, like 行 (haang4, walk) or 走 (zau2, run/leave).
2. First Directional Particle (Dir): The path, such as 上 (soeng5, up), 出 (ceot1, out), 入 (jap6, in), 返 (faan1, back), 過 (gwo3, across), 落 (lok6, down), or 埋 (maai4, closer/approach).
3. Second (Deictic) Particle (嚟/去): Use 嚟 (lei4/lai4) for movement toward the speaker and 去 (heoi3) for movement away.
4. Location (Loc): The destination is placed at the very end. It can be omitted if understood from context.

Key Rules:

  • Word Order: The sequence is V + Dir + 嚟/去 + (Loc). For example, 'move back to Hong Kong' is 搬返去香港 (bun1 faan1 heoi3 hoeng1 gong2).
  • Direct Objects: When there is a direct object (like 'a book'), it is typically placed between the verb and the first directional particle, or after the first directional particle. For example, 'take a book back to Hong Kong' can be 攞本書返去香港 (lo2 bun2 syu1 faan1 heoi3 hoeng1 gong2) or 攞返本書去香港 (lo2 faan1 bun2 syu1 heoi3 hoeng1 gong2).
  • People as Locations: When the destination is a person or pronoun, it cannot be attached directly to the end of the sentence like a geographical location. You must add the locative particle 度 (dou6) or 嗰度 (go2 dou6) after the pronoun/person to turn it into a location. For example, 'walk over to him' is 行過去佢度 (haang4 gwo3 heoi3 keoi5 dou6).
  • Potential Form: To express the ability or inability to complete the movement, insert 得 (dak1) or 唔 (m4) between the Verb and the First Directional Particle. For example, 搬得返去香港 (bun1 dak1 faan1 heoi3 hoeng1 gong2, able to move back to Hong Kong) or 搬唔返去香港 (bun1 m4 faan1 heoi3 hoeng1 gong2, unable to move back to Hong Kong).
  • Aspect Markers: If you use 咗 (zo2), place it after the verb or the first directional particle (e.g., 走咗出去門口 zau2 zo2 ceot1 heoi3 mun4 hau2, ran out to the doorway).
  • Negation: To negate the occurrence of the movement, place 唔 (m4) (for present/future) or 冇 (mou5) (for past) before the verb (e.g., 冇搬返去香港 mou5 bun1 faan1 heoi3 hoeng1 gong2, didn't move back to Hong Kong).

Examples (4)

  1. 佢聽日飛返去英國。

    He is flying back to the UK tomorrow.

    Word by Word: He tomorrow fly back go UK.

    飛 (fei1) is the verb, 返 (faan1) is the direction 'back', and the location 英國 (jing1 gwok3) is placed after the deictic particle 去 (heoi3).

  2. 你幾時搬過嚟三藩市呀？

    When are you moving over to San Francisco?

    Word by Word: You when move over come San Francisco [particle]?

    搬 (bun1) is the verb, 過 (gwo3) means 'over', and the location 三藩市 (saam1 faan4 si5) comes after 嚟 (lei4).

  3. 我哋行入去課室先。

    Let's walk into the classroom first.

    Word by Word: We walk enter go classroom first.

    行 (haang4) is the verb, 入 (jap6) means 'into', and the location 課室 (fo3 sat1) comes after the deictic particle 去 (heoi3).

  4. 佢啱啱走咗出去公園。

    He just ran out to the park.

    Word by Word: He just run out go park.

    走 (zau2) means 'to run' or 'to leave', 出 (ceot1) is 'out', and the location 公園 (gung1 jyun2) is placed after 去 (heoi3).

Common Mistakes

  • Thinking the place must come after 嚟/去.

    Different Meaning搬返香港嚟
    搬返嚟香港

    Both 搬返香港嚟 and 搬返嚟香港 are natural. 搬返香港嚟 is very common in speech; putting the place at the end, as in 搬返嚟香港, is the pattern this entry teaches.

  • Placing aspect markers like 咗 (zo2) at the end of the verb complex.

    佢行入嚟房咗。
    佢行咗入嚟房。

    Aspect markers like 咗 (zo2) should be placed immediately after the main verb or the first directional particle, never at the end of the sentence.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Verb + Direction Word + 嚟/去 + PlaceLevel 3Directional with a Place

Learn This First

To use this pattern, you need to understand how directional verbs (like 'up', 'down', 'back') combine with 'come' (嚟) and 'go' (去). This specific structure teaches you where to place the destination (the location) within that verb phrase.

Words in This Pattern