Going to do something with 去 (qu)

Place the motion verb before another verb to say someone goes to do that action.

beginnerA1 · TOCFL a1directionsentence pattern

去 + V

Pattern

Subject + 去 + action

Key words

Core idea

can come before another verb to mean going somewhere in order to do that action. The second verb tells the purpose of going.

This is a simple serial-verb shape. One subject does both actions, first going, then doing the main activity.

Usage boundary

Use this when actual movement is part of the meaning. If you only mean a future plan without movement, another time word or modal may be enough.

The action after stays in normal verb-object order.

Examples

我去买咖啡。

Wǒ qù mǎi kāfēi.

I am going to buy coffee.

他们去看电影。

Tāmen qù kàn diànyǐng.

They are going to watch a movie.

你要去吃饭吗?

Nǐ yào qù chīfàn ma?

Are you going to eat?

Common mistakes

Avoid

我去咖啡买。

Use

我去买咖啡。

Put 去 before the action, and keep the object after the action verb.

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