Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 1: 7/18

～ていくTo ~ and go, To go on, To start

Structure

Verb［て］+ いく

Details

  • Standard

About ていく

This grammar construction is a mix of the conjunction particle て, and the verb 行(い)く 'to go'. To use this grammar point, you will need to attach て to any verb, and then follow it with いく.

This nuance is usually that '(A) happened and then went', or 'will happen, and then go'. In other words, it will depend on whether いく is in present, or past tense.

ていく can be used when representing time, or when representing a physical place. When representing a physical place, it is more likely that the kanji structure, 行(い)く will be used. However, this is not a set rule, and depends on the writer.

When used in relation to time, the nuance is usually that something has already started/is about to start, and then will continue to progress in the same way.

This is the opposite of てくる, which indicates that something has finally reached a certain state, after progressing in that way for some time.

Fun Fact

When compared to English, ていく is very similar to the phrase 'to go on to (A)', in relation to time. It focuses on the fact that the speaker is required to make some type of journey to arrive at a specific point. For example, 'She went on to become a doctor after university'.

Related

Examples

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  • 大(おお)きい音(おと)で、鳥(とり)が飛(と)んでいく。

    With a loud noise, the birds will fly away. (fly and go)

  • これを先生(せんせい)に持(も)っていってください。

    Please take this to the teacher. (hold and go)

  • 友達(ともだち)にプレゼントを買(か)っていく。

    I am going to buy a present and take it to my friend. (buy and go)

  • 大丈夫(だいじょうぶ)！お弁当(べんとう)を持(も)っていくから。

    It's okay! Because I will take a lunch (bento) with me. (hold and go)

  • 今日(きょう)はテストを受(う)けるから鉛筆(えんぴつ)を持(も)っていく。

    Because I am going to take a test today, I will take a pencil. (hold and go)

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ていく – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (25 in total)

  • BetterOffEd

    BetterOffEd

    I see at least four other students were confused enough by the first example sentence Bunpro uses for this grammar point to ask about it on this forum:

    今日はうちで食べていく

    translated as

    Do you want to go and eat at my place tonight?

    The Bunpro dictionary entry for ～ていく shows To ~ and go as the primary definition

    This description could imply an order in which the て verb is done and then someone/something “goes” away from the speaker, but the use of and could also just mean both activities are, or will be, carried out.

    I am aware that this grammar structure can also have the meaning of an action developing over time (To go on, To start), but that meaning does not seem to apply to the above example sentence.

    The translation for the first example reverses the order I expected of the て form verb and the “go” action. The trans...

  • dodochanx

    dodochanx

    i think the translation is off there.
    here, in 食べていく I think the て form is simply used as “and” or to connect the two verbs, it’s not really the “special” ていく grammar point. the nuance is that “we will go eat at my place and then go”, go as in the person they’re inviting goes home, or there’s an end to the interaction. sort of as, “if you have to go home anyway, let’s first eat and my place and then you go” kind of thing. I think it’s a nice way to invite people because you show you respect their schedule and the fact that they have to leave eventually, but you want to spend more time together. that’s kind of what i got. i think this bunpro lesson kind of mixed it up. some more sentences seem to be like this.
    Japanese ammo with misa is the best channel i’ve found for this. search this grammar point on her channel, she explains it really really well

  • haruka2

    haruka2

    I couldn’t understand this. It came when I was doing Reviews, and I saw the Nuance of ていく that is not semantically correct for this sentence.

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