V過來/過去 — After a motion verb, 過 carries it across a stretch, and 來/去 set whether it crosses toward the speaker or away.

grammar → V過來/過去

TSUMUGU · TBCL 2 (est.) · 語法

V過來/過去 grammar point · tier 1 · V過來/過去 — motion crossing a span toward or away from the speaker

After a motion verb, 過 carries it across a stretch, and 來/去 set whether it crosses toward the speaker or away.

Hook inherited from 趨向補語.

After a motion verb, 過 carries it across a stretch, and 來/去 set whether it crosses toward the speaker or away.

框 · Frame

[verb] 過 [來 / 去]

觸 · Trigger

Something moves across a stretch of space, and you want to mark whether it ends up on your side or the far side.

序 · The move

1Take the motion verb (跑, 走, 飛, 拿).Is there a stretch of space being crossed, not just a one-step move?

2Add 過 to send the action across that stretch.Does the action travel over an intervening span, not stay in place?

3Close with 來 if the crossing ends near you, 去 if it ends away from you.Where does the mover finish — on the speaker's side (來) or the far side (去)?

例 · Examples

1小孩笑著向我跑過來runs across toward the speaker (來 = this way)。我在這邊停車，你可以先走過去walks across to the far side (去 = away from the speaker)找朋友。

The child runs over toward me, laughing. I'll park on this side; you can walk over there first to find your friends.

界 · Boundary

趨向補語 (plain V+來/去)

V來/去 only tags toward or away; 過 inserted between adds the crossing of a stretch of ground. 走來 is approach; 走過來 is crossing the room to reach you.

到…去/來+VP

到台北去 names a destination then states a separate purpose verb; V過來/過去 has 過來/過去 tail the verb itself to show its path. One routes a trip to a place, the other traces how the motion crosses.

向 (toward a target)

向我 orients the action at a target without saying it arrives; 跑過來 actually completes the crossing and lands. 向 aims, 過來 arrives.

他跑過我。 → 他跑過來。 (來/去 must close the crossing and fix its direction; 過 alone leaves it hanging)

他走過去我這邊。 → 他走過來。 (toward the speaker takes 來, not 去; 去 sends it away)

他過來跑。 → 他跑過來。 (過來 tails the verb as its path, it does not lead in front of it)

English folds path and direction into one word — "run over," "walk across" — with no toward/away switch. Chinese splits it: 過 for the crossing, then 來/去 keyed to where the speaker stands.