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Lesson

Compound Direction Complements

1. Explain it simply

A compound complement is a motion word (出/进/上/下/回/过/起) plus 来 or 去.

It attaches after the main verb: 走过来, 站起来, 拿回来.

来 means toward the speaker, 去 means away: 走出来 vs 走出去.

Put 了 after the whole complement: 站起来了, not 站起了来.

2. Show examples

他站起来了。

Tā zhàn qǐlái le.

He stood up.

起来 after 站

孩子跑出去了。

Háizi pǎo chūqù le.

The child ran out.

去 = away from the speaker

请你走过来。

Qǐng nǐ zǒu guòlái.

Please walk over here.

来 = toward the speaker

3. Share a tip

Keep the two-syllable complement together and right after the verb, and let 了 come last - say 站起来了, not 站起了来.

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