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How to say “go to do something” in Chinese with 去

(V. Phrase 1) + (V. Phrase 2)

去 (qù) — actions in a row

HSK 2Verb phrases

Rule structure

To express that actions happen in a sequence, verbs or verb phrases can be listed one after another. The structure is Subject + Verb 1 + (Object 1) + Verb 2 + (Object 2) …. This is a common way to describe consecutive actions.

Examples

我去书店买书。

Wǒ qù shūdiàn mǎi shū.

I go to the bookstore to buy books.

我去超市买水果。

Wǒ qù chāoshì mǎi shuǐguǒ.

I go to the supermarket to buy fruits.

我去商店买东西。

Wǒ qù shāngdiàn mǎi Dōngxi.

I go to the store to buy things.

Practice

Build the sentence

Drag the characters to put them in the correct order

Characters

Words from this rule

我

wǒ

I, me

去

qù

To go

书店

shū diàn

Bookstore

买

mǎi

To buy

书

shū

Book

超市

chāoshì

Supermarket

水果

shuǐguǒ

Fruit

商店

shāngdiàn

Store, shop

东西

dōngxi

Thing, things, object

回

huí

To return

家

jiā

Family, home; measure word for businesses and establishments

做饭

zuò fàn

To cook (a meal)

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “actions in a row” in Chinese with 去?

Use the structure: (Verb Phrase 1) + (Verb Phrase 2). For example: 我去书店买书。 — “I go to the bookstore to buy books”.

What is an example sentence with this grammar rule?

我去书店买书。 — “I go to the bookstore to buy books”.

Which HSK level includes this grammar rule?

This grammar rule is part of HSK 2.

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More HSK 2 grammar rules

到 — direction with “to go to”

到 (dào) + Place + 去 (qù)

一下 — verbing briefly

Verb + 一下 (yíxià)

给 — verb + give to someone

Subj. + Verb + 给 (gěi) + Recipient + Obj.

在 — location after verbs

Verb + 在 (zài) + Place

教你 — double object verbs

Subj. + Verb + Indirect Obj. + Direct Obj.

不要 — negative commands

不要 (búyào) + Verb

看看 — verb reduplication, “take a look”

Verb + Verb

给 — giving to someone

Subj. + 给 (gěi) + Target + Verb + Obj.