# 到 (come / go)



## L3P

Hi,guys, I`ve been taught that 到 roughly has two meanings: 1. the verb “come” – *到了*北京给我打个电话 2. the preposition “to” – 我们星期日*到*城外去玩儿. 
But in the following examples it looks more like “go”,not “come”:

a - (a doctor in his room says to a patient) 请*到*对面房间透视一下儿吧)
b – (two friends are standing outside of a clinic,one says to the other)
医务所到了 (this bit is OK)。你在那儿拿一张表，先*到*内科检查

Please,what is the meaning of 到 here? Thanks


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## retrogradedwithwind

到 means Arrive, come, go, more accurately I think, it means move（and maybe  arrive）. 
In certain context, 到 is the same as 去，来，回。
你到这屋=你来这屋
你到那屋=你去那屋
你到家拿衣服=你回家拿衣服


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## YangMuye

You'd better see it as an kind of preposition indicating where the action takes place, and, in addition, has the implication of moving. We don't often use it like a typical verb, because it's usually accompanied with another verb.
For example,
　　*到*这里*来* = 来这里
　　*到*那里*去* = 去那里
　　*到*城外*去*玩 = 去城外玩
　　*到*内科*检查* = 在/去内科检查
　　*到*对面房间*透视* = 在/去对面房间透视

But 医务所到了 is different. This 到 means _arrive_.


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## Skatinginbc

retrogradedwithwind said:


> maybe  arrive


Yes, its central meaning is "to arrive" (《說文解字》《爾雅·釋詁》到，至也).


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## L3P

YangMuye said:


> *到*内科*检查* = *在/去*内科检查
> *到*对面房间*透视* = *在/去*内科检查



I thought I could use it as a preposition only with verbs of movement, like 去，来. I understand it all right,
but the take-away from your massage seems to be that it can be used as a preposition with *any *verbs,same as with
检查，透视 etc? And how exactly can it mean 在 /去, 在 being static & 去 being dynamic?


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## YangMuye

Generally speaking, we prefer 到 if the action is supposed to be performed in a different place. So 请到内科检查 is the most common; 请在内科检查 is nevertheless acceptable (at least to me) even if the listener needs to move to the destination first. But I will not use 到 in 请在下一站下车, (because you just wait on the bus,) and I prefer 在 when the the destination is immediate, for example, 请在前门下车 (在=从/走, through).

In Chinese, it is not uncommon to juxtapose several verbs in the order they take place. You can use more specific verbs like 来, 去, or even verb phrases, to replace 到, for example, 请走到对面房间透视, but, usually, you don't have to be that precise.

Incidentally, I think 来 and 去 are frequently used like conjunctions or particles, too, even though their verb use is very common.


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## Skatinginbc

To me, the word 到 in itself is non-directional.  Its direction (i.e.,  coming toward or going away from the speaker) is (1) implied in the  context (e.g., 到这里, 到那里), (2) specified by a particle (e.g., 到北京来, 到北京去), or (3) left ambiguous when its direction in relevance to the speaker is inconsequential (e.g., 船到橋頭自然直).
到城外去玩儿 ==> 到 means "go" as indicated by the particle 去. 
请到对面房间透视一下儿吧 ==> 到 means "go" as implied in the context (i.e., 对面). 
你在那儿拿一张表，先到内科检查 ==> 到 means "go" as implied in the context (i.e., 内科 as opposed to 这里). 

到 connotes "arrival".  他要到北京 means literally "He wants to arrive in Beijing" (i.e. "He wants to come/go to Beijing).  我晚上到你家拜訪 means literally "I'll arrive at your house to visit tonight" (i.e.,  "I'll pay you a visit at your house tonight"). 

*到了*北京给我打个电话 ==> When you arrive in Beijing...
医务所到了 Here we arrive at the clinic.


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## YangMuye

> 你到这屋=你来这屋你到那屋=你去那屋





> 他要到北京


I'm not sure how common 到 is used in this way, but the two sentences both sound incomplete to me.
I just asked my friend and she agreed with me.

In addition, I don't use 到 as a voluntary or intentional verb, so I don't say 要到北京 or 请到北京, unless it is followed by another verb phrase. On the other hand, 到不了, 到得了 and 到了之后 are fine because they don't denote voluntary actions.


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## Skatinginbc

You are right, YangMuye.  They are not complete sentences.


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## L3P

Skatinginbc said:


> 到城外去玩儿 ==> 到 means "go" as indicated by the particle 去.



Final one: do you guys really see 到 here as "go" or as the preposition "to",because in my manual they  say that the sentence literally  means 
"to 城外 go 玩儿".Or it should be "go 城外 go 玩儿"? It`s important for me to know how a chinese person sees the sentence.
Thanks a lot for your time.


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## YangMuye

I think most Chinese are unaware of the difference and tend to see both 到 as the same. This was the case of my friend.

Similarly, people think 去 and 来 are verbs, but it's evident from Skatinginbc's example that the 去 in 到城外去玩儿 can be seen as a particle, too.

I think the structure of 到城外玩儿 is similar to the English expression “use ... to do ...”, in which “use ...” appears to be (and indeed is) a verb, but in fact has the same meaning as “with ...”.

Because saying 到城外玩儿 instead of 到城外去玩儿 does not change the meaning, I think I tend to perceive the second sentence as “go 城外 to 玩”. 去 connects 到城外 to 玩儿; both 到城外去 and 去玩儿 are valid expressions. You can even say 到城外玩儿去, in which 去 is only attached to 玩. But there is a difference between the two 去s: the first 去 does not have to mean “to move”. For example, we say 用眼睛去看 (look with your eyes); it by no means equals to 用眼睛看去 (go and look with your eyes, or looking at something far away).


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## Skatinginbc

In my mind, 到 is a finite verb (or the main verb) and 去玩 a non-finite verb (or infinitive) indicating purpose ("to play").  
他已经在家里吃过了 ==> 在家里他已经吃过了 .  Compare: 他已经到城外去玩了 ==> *到城外他已经去玩了  (Thus 到 is NOT a preposition). 
他已经在家里吃过了 ==> 他在家里已经吃过了 .  Compare: 他已经到城外去玩了 ==> *他到城外已经去玩了  (Thus 去玩 is NOT the main verb).


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## L3P

Thanks a lot,everyone,I appreciate your help,guys.


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## Skatinginbc

到外面去哭 ==> 哭, 到外面去! vs. *去哭, 到外面!
到城裡去玩 ==> 玩, 到城裡去! vs. *去玩, 到城裡!  
It seems that 去 is not attached to the verb that follows, and that 玩 and 哭 are bare infinitives.  If 去 ≠ "_to_", what is its function in such constructions as 到城裡去玩?  I think it is chiefly directional: 到城裡去玩 (going away from the speaker) ≠ 到城裡来玩 (coming toward the speaker). 
你若到城裡玩, 別忘了来看我 (= 到城裡来玩)
你若到城裡玩, 別忘了幫我買件禮物 (= 到城裡去玩)

What is the function of 去/来 in 到城裡去/到城裡来? 
他上班 "He works" ==> 他上班去了 (= 他去上班了) "He has gone to work" 
他睡覺 "He sleeps" ==> 他睡覺去了 (= 他去睡覺了) "He has gone to sleep"  去了沒? 去了! 睡著沒? 不知道!
他到了外婆家 "He has arrived at gandma's house" ==> 他到外婆家去了 "He has gone to grandma's house".  去了沒? 去了! 到了沒? 不知道!
Now it seems to me that 去 is actually the main verb (as in 爸爸捕魚去 "My father went fishing" ==>  去了沒? 去了! 捕魚了沒? 不知道!).

To sum up: 
到城裡(去)玩 ==> 到 seems to be the main verb, 玩 the infinitive, and 去 a directional particle (as in 用手去摸 vs. 用手来摸 vs. 用手摸).  
他到城裡去了 ==> 去 seems to be the main verb and 到 the infinitive, which  serves as the complement of the verb 去.  That is to say, it is SOV  (subject-object-verb).


L3P said:


> I`ve been taught that 到  roughly has two meanings: 1. the verb “come” – 到了北京给我打个电话 2. the  preposition “to” – 我们星期日到城外去玩儿.


到 may function like a preposition only if its object is a temporal phrase: 到 + time (e.g., 到那时).  If its object is a location (e.g., 北京, 城外), it always serves as a verb.  As a verb, it has two possible meanings: 1). 達 "to arrive" (e.g., 到了北京给我打个电话), and 2). 往 "to go to, to come toward, to leave for" (e.g., 我们星期日到城外玩儿). 

Here is a rule of thumb that may help you decide whether 到 means 達 or 往: 
1. 到 + location + V (e.g, 到城外玩, 到城裡去) ==> 到 means "往".
2. 到 + location (e.g., 到了北京), or location + 到 (e.g., 北京到了) ==> 到 means 達


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