Grammar Info
N4 Lesson 1: 7/18

~ていく
To ~ and go, To go on, To start

Structure
Casual
Polite
Verb[て]+ いく
Verb[て]+ いきます
Details
Register Standard
使用域 一般
Information
This grammar construction is a mix of the conjunction particle , and the verb 行(い)く ‘to go’. To use this grammar point, you will need to attach 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.
  • 今日(きょう)うち食(た)べていく
    Do you want to go and eat at my place tonight? (Literally ‘will you’, but comes across more as an invitation in casual Japanese)
  • 今晩(こんばん)雨(あめ)降(ふ)と聞(き)いたから、傘(かさ)持(も)って行(い)った
    Because I heard that it was going to rain tonight, I took an umbrella.
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.
  • 毎日(まいにち)ゴルフ練習(れんしゅう)たらだんだん上手(じょうず)くなていく
    When you practice golf everyday, you will gradually get better.
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’.
Slow Male
Hide All
Hide Japanese
Hide English
大(おお)きい音(おと)鳥(とり)飛(と)んでいく
With a loud noise, the birds will fly away.
[The birds cause a loud noise when they fly away]
Play  
これ先生(せんせい)持(も)っいっください。
Please take this to the teacher.
Play  
友達(ともだち)プレゼント買(か)っていく
I am going to buy a present and take it to my friend.
Play  
Books
Tobira
Page 70
[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 151
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 121
[AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
Page 75