Verbs at the end of sentences

[xiexieniii]

I had a teacher who told me that the verb should not go at the end of the sentence...for example, "他买东西去了" should be "他去买东西了". Is "去" at the end of a sentence also correct?

[leeyah]

Is "去" at the end of a sentence also correct?

命令 or 骂人 use only:

还等什么？快出去！What are you waiting for? Get out at once!

滚一边去！ Beat it!

[HashiriKata]

I had a teacher who told me that the verb should not go at the end of the sentence...for example, "他买东西去了" should be "他去买东西了".

I think your teacher was a bit too prescriptive there. It's perfectly fine to say "他买东西去了"， and it's quite common for 去 to end the sentence. In fact, you can even see 去 twice in the same sentence:

A: 他到哪儿去了？

B: 他去买东西去了。

[isela]

"买东西去了" is right for "gone for buying stuff".

But "买东西去" (normally followed by "!") means "Go and buy the stuff!"

Thus, ignoring the “了” will make the sentense an order, as Leeyah correctly said.

And, “滚一边去" ("roll aside") means "go away!", not "beat it". Leeyah must be missing MJ a lot these days...

Note that 滚一边儿去 is another order.

[HashiriKata]

And, “滚一边去" ("roll aside") means "go away!", not "beat it".

And, "beat it" is a slang, an informal way to say "go away"

[xiaocai]

I don't see anything wrong with "他买东西去了". My grammar is not very good but I am pretty sure that there is no such rule in Chinese that you can't put the verb at the end of the sentence. Especially if you are talking about something that has already be done, it is perfectly fine to say things like "这本书去年我就已经读过了".

[creamyhorror]

Note that there are split structures like 送到机场去了 (= 送[到机场]去了). I don't really know how to generalise their usage, though.

[HashiriKata]

I don't really know how to generalise their usage, though.

去, and 来, in sentences like this are called "directional complements", often used to identify the direction of the action indicated by the main verb (but sometimes can be mixed up with 去 and 来 which themselves are the main verbs in the sentence).

[creamyhorror]

Thanks, HashiriKata. So how about 做下去, 拉过来 and so on? Are 过来 and 下去 compound directional complements?

[leeyah]

Sorry for "jumping in" but I just thought you may find this useful:

Translation of 送下去。 + help with pattern verb + direction + 去/来

[creamyhorror]

Thanks leeyah! So that's what they're called, complex directional complements.

[muyongshi]

I was told that they are "verbs of direction". Don't think it matters though. Understanding them and how to use them is more important.

[xiexieniii]

I totally forgot I had posted this question. Thanks everyone!

[xiaoxueren8804]

I just can say that 他买东西去了 and 他去买东西了 are both correct.

I think the former is the hyperbaton of the latter.