Using the verb "qu"

It's pretty easy to get a handle on the verb 去 (qù). The only trick is getting used to is not having to say "to" before the destination.

Structure with just a Place

The verb 去 means "to go," and is an easy way to talk about going to places.

Subject + 去 + Place

Notice that you don't need a word to express "to."

Examples

• 我 去 学校。(Present tense 去 often translates most naturally into an "-ing" form in English, expressing intent)I go to school. / I'm going to school.
• 他 去 图书馆 。 (Present tense 去 often translates most naturally into an "-ing" form in English, expressing intent)He goes to the library. / He's going to the library.
• 她 去 邮局 。 (Present tense 去 often translates most naturally into an "-ing" form in English, expressing intent)She goes to the post office. / She's going to the post office.
• 我 去 公司 。(公司 literally means "company" but is often used to mean "office.")I'm going to the office.
• 我 去 洗手间。I'm going to have Chinese class. / I'm going to the washroom.
• 下午 我 会 去 超市。(会 is used here to indicate the future.)In the afternoon I'll go to the supermarket.
• 我们 现在 去 公园。We're going to the park now.
• 晚上 十 点 我们 去 酒吧 。你 去 吗 ？(Again, expressing intent, using 去 by itself)At 10pm we're going to the bar. Are you going?
• 我们 去那个中国餐厅吧。Let's go to that Chinese restaurant.
• 我 想 去 中国。I'd like to go to China.
• 我 太太 想 去 泰国。My wife would like to go to Thailand.
• 昨天 我 去 了 那里。(了 is used here to express a completed action.)Yesterday I went there.
• 去年 我 去 了 北京。(了 is used here to express a completed action.)Last year I went to Beijing.

You can also use 去 for asking questions. (Note the use of question words and question particles.)

• 你 去 哪儿 ？Where are you going?

• A: 你 去 晚会 吗？Are you going to the party?
• B: 我 去。(literally, "I'm going.")Yes.

When answering a yes-no question that uses 去 you don't need anything following it. However, it's important to note that you cannot just use 去 when there is no context.

Structure with a Verb

The "place" can also be some sort of action. The structure then means "go to do (something)," and "go and do (something)."

Subject + 去 + Verb

Examples

• 我 去 工作 。I'm going to go work.
• 他 去 上课 。He is going to class.
• 他们 去 买 衣服 。They are going to buy clothes.
• 我去 看书 。I'm going to go read a book.
• 你去 告诉 他 。I'll go tell him.
• 我去 做饭 。I'll go cook.
• 很 多 人 去 看 电影。A lot of people are going to watch a movie.
• 我 想 去 游泳 。I'd like to go swimming.
• 我们 去 旅游 吧 。Let's go traveling.
• 九 点 去 开会 。At 9 o'clock we'll go have the meeting.

See also

• Expressing movement

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 106)　→buy
• 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (pp. 455-6) →buy