Level 5 · Lesson 9

站起来，说下去
Stand up, keep talking

请你站起来。书拿出来了吗？我想起来了！很好，说下去。

Two-part directions like 起来 and 下去 — and their everyday figurative senses, starting and carrying on.

听 · Listen

说你的周末
 王老师 —  李明，请你站起来。书拿出来了吗？ 
Li Ming, please stand up. Have you got your book out?  
 李明 —  拿出来了。老师，我站起来了。 
It's out. I'm standing, teacher.  
 王老师 —  好。请你说一说你的周末。 
Good. Tell us a little about your weekend.  
 李明 —  我的周末……老师，我忘了。 
My weekend … Teacher, I've forgotten.  
 王老师 —  别着急，想一想。 
Don't panic — have a think.  
 李明 —  啊，我想起来了！周末我跟朋友一起上山去了。 
Ah, it's coming back to me! At the weekend I went up the mountain with a friend.  
 王老师 —  很好，说下去。 
Very good — go on.  
 李明 —  我们走上去，看见了很多花。下来的时候下雨了。 
We walked up and saw a lot of flowers. On the way down it started to rain.  

讲解 · Explanation

站起来。坐下来。走上去。拿出来。

Directions can come in two parts. First the verb (站, 坐, 走, 拿), then the shape of the movement (起, 下, 上, 出), then 来 or 去 chosen exactly as in the last lesson — from where the speaker is. 站起来 is standing that ends up upright, 坐下来 is sitting that ends up down, 走上去 is walking that ends up over there and higher, 拿出来 is taking that ends up out here.

啊，我想起来了！大家都笑起来了。

起来 has a second life away from real movement: it marks a beginning. 大家都笑起来了 — everybody burst out laughing, the laughing started. And 想起来 is the most useful one of all: not 'think upward' but 'it comes back to me', the memory rising to the surface. 我想起来了 is what you say the moment a forgotten name arrives.

很好，说下去。我要学下去。

下去 is the mirror image: it marks carrying on with something already under way. 说下去 go on talking, 学下去 keep studying, 走下去 keep walking. So the pair divides the work between them — 起来 switches an action on, 下去 keeps it running. You will hear both used this way every day, quite as often as in their literal sense.

生词 · Vocabulary

词	Meaning	注 · Note
起来	up; (after a verb) and it starts	站起来, 想起来, 笑起来
下去	down (away); (after a verb) and it carries on	说下去, 学下去
下来	down (toward me)	坐下来, 走下来
上去	up (away from me)	走上去, 上山去
出来	out (toward me)	拿出来, 走出来

练习 · Practice

老师说：很好，______！ The teacher wants you to keep talking.

啊，我 ______ 了！周末我跟朋友一起去了公园。 The memory has just come back to you.

老师说：李明，请你站 ______。 Ask Li Ming to stand up.

排一排。 Arrange the words: 'We walked up and saw a lot of flowers.'

起来、下去、下来、上去、出来 Match each one to its meaning.

用一用 · Use it

我站起来了。书我拿出来了。我想起来了！我要学下去。

Do this one standing. Say 我站起来了 as you get up, and 书我拿出来了 as you pull something out of a bag. Then say the two useful ones: 我想起来了, the moment something forgotten arrives, and 我要学下去 — I'm going to keep learning. Finally tell someone about a walk you took, using 走上去 and 走下来 for the two halves of it.