Grammar Point
到 dào — Movement Marker
到 marks the completion or arrival of a movement toward a specific place — often paired with 来 (come), 去 (go), or another verb of motion.
一 Structure
Subject + 到 + Place + (Action)
我們到陽明山泡溫泉好嗎我们到阳明山泡温泉好吗？
Shall we go to Yangmingshan for hot springs?
你明天可以到我們公司看看你明天可以到我们公司看看
You can come to our company tomorrow and take a look.
你到咖啡店了嗎你到咖啡店了吗？
Have you arrived at the coffee shop?
他沒到你家去嗎他没到你家去吗？
Didn’t he go to your house?
聽說周杰倫明天會到美國去听说周杰伦明天会到美国去
I heard Jay Chou will go to the United States tomorrow.
Jay Chou (周杰伦) is one of the most influential singers and songwriters in the Chinese-speaking music world. If you’ve ever tried listening to his songs to practice your Chinese and felt like you couldn’t catch the words — don’t worry, that’s completely normal. His pronunciation is famously mumbly, even to native speakers.
我到家了
I’ve arrived home.
你到不到台灣來學中文你到不到台湾来学中文？
Do you want to come to Taiwan to learn Chinese?
二 Practice
Pick the correctly ordered sentence.
Question 1 of 10
“Shall we go to Yangmingshan for hot springs?”
到 comes right after the subject, before the place — not after it.
“Have you arrived at the coffee shop?”
到 goes before the place 咖啡店, not after it.
“Didn’t he go to your house?”
没 comes before 到, not after it.
“I’ve arrived home.”
到 goes before 家, not after it.
“Do you want to come to Taiwan to learn Chinese?”
In the V-not-V pattern, 到 comes first and 不 sits between the two repeated verbs: 到不到.
“Have you arrived at school yet?”
到 comes before the place, not after it.
“I heard she will go to Japan next month.”
会 (will) comes before 到, not after it.
“Can you come to my house tonight?”
可以 (can) comes before 到, not after it.
“I’ve arrived at the airport.”
到 goes before the place, not after it.
“Where are we going to eat tomorrow?”
到 comes before 哪儿, not after it. (Notice Taiwan says while the mainland says 哪儿 — a real word difference, not just a character swap.)
