Verb + 来 / 走
Use these to add direction to an action. 来 pulls the action toward the speaker or the reference point: 送来 = bring (to here), 跑来 = run over (to me). 走 pushes the action away or marks departure: 拿走 = take away, 跑走 = run off. Together they form the simplest pair of directional complements — they tell the listener WHERE the verb is heading.
Structure
[VERB] + 来 / [VERB] + 走 (+ Object)
[VERB] + lái / [VERB] + zǒu
How to Think About It
The speaker's location is the anchor. 来 = motion toward that anchor; 走 = motion away from it (or simply leaving the scene). Strictly, 走 can also mean 'walk,' but as a directional complement after another verb, it always means 'off / away.' 拿走 is unambiguous: take + away. The same anchor logic governs the bigger directional set (上来, 下去, 进来, 出去) — once you internalize the speaker-as-anchor view, those follow naturally.
Examples
请把这本书拿走。
qǐng bǎ zhè běn shū ná zǒu.
Please take this book away.
妈妈给我送来了一些水果。
māma gěi wǒ sòng lái le yìxiē shuǐguǒ.
Mom brought me some fruit.
他听到声音就跑来了。
tā tīng dào shēngyīn jiù pǎo lái le.
He ran over the moment he heard the sound.
Common Mistake
Learners put the object between the verb and 来/走, especially in past sentences, copying English word order ('took the keys away'). In Chinese, the directional complement is glued to the verb; the object follows AFTER or comes before via 把. 拿走钥匙 or 把钥匙拿走 — never 拿钥匙走.
他拿钥匙走了。
他把钥匙拿走了。
Don't Confuse With
Verb + 到 + Place
到 names the specific destination (跑到学校 = ran to school). 来/走 only marks direction relative to the speaker, not a named place.
Verb + 起来 / 下去
Other directional complements with extended metaphorical uses (站起来 = stand up; 说下去 = keep talking). 来/走 stays mostly literal.
走 as a main verb
Alone, 走 means 'walk / leave' (我走了 = I'm leaving). As a complement after another verb, it means 'away.' Same character, two roles.
Practice
Fill the blank: 服务员把菜端____了。
Show answer
来
Fill the blank: 别忘了把垃圾拿____。
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走
Arrange: 我 / 一杯水 / 给 / 倒来 / 了 / 他
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他给我倒来了一杯水。
Translate to Chinese: Someone took my phone away.
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有人把我的手机拿走了。
Write a sentence using a verb + 来 or 走.
Show answer
他把我的伞拿走了。
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode. Press play to hear the sentence:
死了以后，海水把它送到了海边。
After it died, seawater carried it to the shore.
Sperm Whale Carcass Closes Four Sydney BeachesElementary
Related Grammar Patterns
Acquire by listening
Hear Verb + 来 / 走 in real Chinese, not in a textbook.
Fluentide picks the next news episode at your level, so this pattern shows up again and again in real context. The transcript marks it, the audio drills it. Free to start.