665 - ~てくる / ~ていく (has become / will become)

JLPT N4: ~てくる / ~ていく (has become / will become)

The ending ~てくる is attached to VERBS when expressing that some kind of change has occurred continually from the past up until now.

Conversely, ~ていく is attached to VERBS when expressing that some kind of change will continue to occur from now into the future.

Since in other contexts くる means "to come" and いく means "to go," I like to think of these like this:
- Te-form VERBcome has (continually) VERB-ed
- Te-form VERBgo will (continue to) VERB

You'll find that sentences with ~てくる often end up with English translations using the present perfect tense. For example, in the following sentence the verb "to get" is translated as "has gotten":


だんだん涼しくなっきましたね。
だんだん すずしくなってきました ね。
It has gradually gotten colder, hasn’t it?
Literally: “gradually + cool + become (and) + came + ね.”

~ていく, on the other hand, is often used with the でしょう/だろう of conjecture, which we've studied before:


これからだんだん涼しくなっいくだろうね。
これから だんだん すずしく なって いく だろう ね。
It will probably get gradually colder from now on, huh?
Literally: “from now + gradually + cool + become (and) + go + だろう + ね.”

This grammar book of mine had an image in it that you might find helpful:

I edited the image a bit to show what the Japanese words mean.


👷 Construction 👷

Pretty straightforward rules here:

V てくる
V ていく


Well, all that's left to do now is to power through a handful of example sentences.

~てくる and ~ていく are used quite commonly, so I recommend that you take your time reading these...


ヨガを始めて体重が減っきた
ヨガ を はじめて たいじゅう が へってきた。
I’ve lost weight since I started yoga.
Literally: “yoga + を + start (and) + body weight + が + decrease (and) + came.”



マレー語のリスニングが上達しきました
マレーご の リスニング が じょうたつ してきました。
My listening skills for Malay have improved.
Literally: “Malay (language) + の + listening + が + improvement + do (and) + came.”




今月下旬から、雨の日が多くなっいくでしょう。
こんげつ げじゅん から、 あめ の ひ が おおくなっていく でしょう。
There will likely start to be more rainy days toward the end of this month.
Literally: “this month + last third of the month + from, + rain + の + day + が + many + become (and) + go + でしょう.”




テクノロジーの発展により、私達の生活は目まぐるしく変わっいくだろう。
テクノロジー の はってん により、 わたしたち の せいかつ は めまぐるしく かわっていく だろう。
Due to the development of technology, our lives will probably change so fast that we won’t be able to keep up.
Literally: “technology + の + development + due to, + we + の + (daily) life + は + bewilderingly / dizzyingly + change (and) + go + だろう.”




貧富の差はますます広がっいくだろうと言われています。
ひんぷ の さ は ますます ひろがっていく だろう と いわれています。
It is said that wealth disparity is likely to increase more and more.
Literally: “wealth disparity (=rich and poor + の + difference) + は + more and more + extend / stretch (and) + go + だろう + と + is being said.”



That's it for this one.

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