Directional 来/去

来 and 去 serve as simple directional complements when placed after verbs of motion. 来 indicates movement toward the speaker (or the reference point), while 去 indicates movement away from the speaker. They answer the implicit question: "In which direction?"

Common combinations include: 上来 (come up), 上去 (go up), 下来 (come down), 下去 (go down), 进来 (come in), 进去 (go in), 出来 (come out), 出去 (go out), 回来 (come back), 回去 (go back). The direction verb (上, 下, 进, 出, 回) tells you the type of movement, while 来/去 tells you the perspective.

When there is an object that is a place, it is inserted between the direction verb and 来/去. For example, "他走进教室来" — "He walked into the classroom (toward me)." If the object is a thing rather than a place, it usually comes after: "他带来了一本书" — "He brought a book."

Choosing between 来 and 去 depends entirely on the speaker's position. If someone is walking toward you, use 来; if they are walking away from you, use 去. This concept is intuitive once you think about it from the speaker's perspective.