complements of direction

thecomakid
October 26, 2010, 03:03 PM posted in Grammar Questions

Hey guys, I'm having real problems with compliments of direction (上,下,回,进, 回来,回去, 上去,下来,过去,过来,起来, 出去,进去).

Leaving aside the special uses of 起来 (to gather together, to start/burst into ...ing) which have been covered in previous QingWen, I need some help understanding this grammar feature.

With verbs of motion, the usage of compliments of direction is fairly clear, but when they combine with verbs I wouldn't normally associate with moving from one place to another, such as: 

检 - pick up

掏 - take out

搬 - remove, take away

端 - carry in both hands

扔 - throw

拿 - to take

放 - to put

Part of this confusion stems from my own English translation of some of the verbs, as they already have prepositions. 

The main source of my confusion though is in the text book I'm using (40 lessons for basic Chinese) there isn't a clear explanation of how these compliments combine with verbs in different ways.

Could you please give me a bunch of examples combining the compliments of direction to an assortment of verbs so I can get a better feel for how they work?

Many thanks for any help.

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