Verbs in series: 坐车去, 去商店买东西
【一29】动词谓语句 (连动): structure de base
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
Chinese happily lines up two verbs in time order, with no “and” or “to”.
1. Means + action: 我坐飞机去北京 (I'm flying to Beijing, literally “I take the plane, go to Beijing”). 他开车去上班.
2. Movement + purpose: 我去商店买东西 (I'm going to the store to buy things). 妈妈来看我了 (Mom came to see me).
The logic: steps are described in the order they happen. First you board the plane, then you reach Beijing.
Choice question: 你们坐火车去还是坐飞机去？
Examples
我坐飞机去北京。
Wǒ zuò fēijī qù Běijīng.I'm flying to Beijing.
他每天开车去上班。
Tā měi tiān kāichē qù shàngbān.He drives to work every day.
我去商店买水果。
Wǒ qù shāngdiàn mǎi shuǐguǒ.I'm going to the store to buy fruit.
他常去饭店吃饭。
Tā cháng qù fàndiàn chī fàn.He often goes to restaurants to eat.
妈妈来看我了。
Māma lái kàn wǒ le.Mom came to see me.
Common mistakes
✗ 我去北京坐飞机 (= I go to Beijing to take a plane) → ✓ 我坐飞机去北京.
✗ 我去商店为买东西 → ✓ 我去商店买东西 (no “to/for”).
✗ 我去北京在飞机 → ✓ 我坐飞机去北京.