～ていくTo ~ and go, To go on, To start

Structure

Verb［て］+ いく

Details

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'.

Synonyms

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 (20 in total)

ThiagoIanuch
Hello! I’m also struggling with this grammar point, but I found this video:

If I understand correctly, the difference between ～ていく and ～に行く would be:

食べに行く
Just says “to go eat”, no place else to go after

食べていく
It says “to go eat”, but indicates that there is still somewhere else to go.

I would appreciate if anyone could tell me if I am correct.
nihongo_noob
Understanding 〜ていくas to do something and then go, it feels like the first example in the lesson isn’t translated very clearly / is translated incompletely.

今日はうちで食べていく？
Do you want to go and eat at my place tonight?

The translation makes it seem that we are only going somewhere (the speaker’s house) with the objective of eating. However, if I understand correctly, the sentence also implies that the suggestion of eating at the speaker’s place should happen before they leave to go somewhere else (depending on the prior context).
Shaonia
I found this grammar point quite confusing at a first glance, but I felt like the example in Game Gengo’s N4 Video Textbook (it’s a long video, the relevant part starts at 2:59:30) explained it nicely.