来 at the end of a sentence

[thelearninglearner]

I have started to see 来 and very rarely 去 at the end of some sentences for example, today i saw "好啦 我想我去给大家盛点蔬菜来。" i know 来 is a directional word to show something is moving toward the object or speaker but I don't quite get how it's used in this sentence.

[Singe]

I'll be interested in some of the answers to this from the more experienced forumers. My understanding is that 来 is a little more versatile than only being a directional verb in Chinese. It can also convey the meaning of 'do it', especially when used with 我 or 你 etc.

[jannesan]

4 hours ago, Singe said:

It can also convey the meaning of 'do it', especially when used with 我 or 你 etc.

 

I think you're right, here is an article on the grammar wiki describing this usage: https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Using_"lai"_as_a_dummy_verb

 

7 hours ago, thelearninglearner said:

好啦 我想我去给大家盛点蔬菜来。

 

In my understanding putting the 来 at the end of the sentence does not change the meaning,

but just emphasizes the speaker takes the initiative and wants to/will put some vegetables on their plates.

 

I think in shorter sentence structures this feels a bit more natural to me, as in "我来给他个电话", where the “来" is not at the end of the sentence.

Not sure if that usage is exactly the same as in your example, but I think so. Maybe someone else can confirm.

[thelearninglearner]

4 hours ago, jannesan said:

In my understanding putting the 来 at the end of the sentence does not change the meaning,

but just emphasizes the speaker takes the initiative and wants to/will put some vegetables on their plates.

What you're saying feels right. And sounds okay, but still not totally clear to me. I think I'll have to find more examples for myself

[Leslie Frank]

21 hours ago, thelearninglearner said:

好啦 我想我去给大家盛点蔬菜来

 

gotta love chinese, eh? lemme give this a whirl...

the 来 used here, is somewhat of a figurative directional usage, with a hint of a "to do" type of usage. 

you know the speaker is essentially saying s/he/they will be serving some veggies.

what the 来 does here, is to make it a bit specific in the sense that the server will be serving the veggies *right over here/there* where everyone is.

it's kinda like if someone says 你来吧. yes, they're asking you to come, but it's also a specific request for you to come over to here/there, wherever the speaker is at.

so you see the directional aspect of 來? but of course, there's a bit of a “to do" aspect, as obviously, some action needs to be "done," which is inherent for the meaning of 來.

 

 

13 hours ago, jannesan said:

我来给他个电话

 

this 来 figures more solidly in the realm of the "to do" meaning of 來.

 

 

now here's my disclaimer: this is all coming from canto as my first language, mando as my working language; using the 來 here at the end of a sentence is not uncommon to ask someone to bring something over to where the speaker is in canto; at work, i'm always talking to clients about their health and welfare, so i'm never asking them to bring something over to me and the same would go with my clients cuz we're an over-the-phone type of service; i never actually see the clients so i won't be bringing stuff over to them and they won't expect that of me obviously. so for those mando speakers who are more familiar with 來 in the OP's context and if what i explained is different in mando, please pipe up... matter of fact, i posted about a new video i just put up and in that video, i precisely talk about 來 but in the directional usage (both literally and figuratively) about 9:10 minutes into the video.

[thelearninglearner]

@Leslie Frankat actually helps a lot. Now I just need to remember to use it correctly