en
cs
da
de
it
plCommon errors
Omitting the spatial direction expressed by 来/來 and 去
In English, verbs generally do not imply the meanings “toward the speaker” or “away from the speaker.” In Chinese, however, directional complements require this distinction. Because English lacks an equivalent grammatical structure, learners may easily omit the directional meaning conveyed by 来/來 and 去.
老师：小王呢？怎么不在？
*学生：他刚才出教室了。
学生：他刚才出教室去了。
老師：小王呢？怎麼不在？
*學生：他剛才出教室了。
學生：他剛才出教室去了。
Placing a locative object after the directional complement
Influenced by English grammar, learners sometimes place the locative object in a position that is not permitted in Chinese, resulting in ungrammatical expressions.
*老师教室出去。
*老师出去教室。
老师出教室去。
*老師教室出去。
*老師出去教室。
老師出教室去。
Errors caused by native transfer
(CS/DK/DE/IT/PL)
Classroom activity
The teacher can perform an action, and students say the corresponding directional complement based on what the teacher does. For example:
The teacher walks into the classroom from outside the door.
→ Students say:
老师进（教室）来了。
老師進（教室）來了。
The teacher walks out toward the door.
→ Students say:
老师出去了。
老師出去了。
If some actions are difficult to demonstrate in the classroom, the teacher can use pictures or videos, and students describe the actions shown. For example:
Picture: A person is walking down the stairs. → Students say:
他下楼。
他下樓。
Video: A dog runs out of the house.
→ Students say:
小狗出(房间)去了。
小狗出(房間)去了。
The teacher can also prepare a set of cards with directional complements. A student draws a card (for example: 出教室) and performs the action. Then the teacher can ask the other students questions:
Teacher:
他进教室来了，对不对？
他進教室來了，對不對？
Student:
不对，他出教室去了。
不對，他出教室去了。