<p>去 does mean 'go'</p>
<ol>
<li><p>他没有认真做  He didn't do it full-heartedly</p>
</li>
<li><p>他没有认真去做  He didn't <strong>go</strong> do it full-heartedly = He didn't <strong>engage</strong> in doing it seriously</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>You can consider 去 as a helper verb that emphasizes the proactive aspect of the verb -- not simply &quot;do it&quot; but &quot;go do it&quot; (proactively)</p>
<p>More example:</p>
<p>Don't hate the sinner - 不要恨罪人</p>
<p>Don't <strong>go</strong> hate the sinner - 不要<strong>去</strong>恨罪人</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-20T12:17:05.270Z
IMO, 他没有认真去做 = He didn't take heart to do it. 不要去恨罪人 = Not to hate the sinner/person who has sinned.
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-20T18:45:42.397Z
yes, 认真 here sounds more like full-heartedly than seriously
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-21T01:51:04.820Z
Yea, translation is a tricky business.
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-20T07:47:05.720Z
2022-10-20T18:44:22.727Z
2022-10-20T18:44:22.727Z
Tang Ho
<blockquote>
<p>他完全有能力做好这件事,但他没有认真去做。</p>
<p>He was perfectly capable of doing it well, but he didn't take it seriously.(This English sentence was gained from google translate just pasting the above sentence on it.)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I've read the given sentence as follows using direct translation.</p>
<p><em>He completely has an ability to do that stuff(matter?) well, but he haven't done it seriously.</em></p>
<p>How should I interpret 去 with 做？</p>
<p>I know 去 has meaning of &quot;to go&quot; but seems this cannot be applied here.</p>
<p>I need your help.</p>
<p>p.s. I've been studying Chinese using past papers of HSK4 skipping getting grades less than 4 of hsk. Why I am doing this is that my mother language is Japanese, so without studying Chinese, I can read Chinese partially(e.g. literal 完全有能力 is completely compatible with japanese). But seems this way of learning is inefficient...</p>

<grammar><meaning>
How does 去 in 去做 work?
# How does 去 in 去做 work?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-10-20)

> 他完全有能力做好这件事,但他没有认真去做。
>
> He was perfectly capable of doing it well, but he didn't take it seriously.(This English sentence was gained from google translate just pasting the above sentence on it.)

I've read the given sentence as follows using direct translation.

*He completely has an ability to do that stuff(matter?) well, but he haven't done it seriously.*

How should I interpret 去 with 做？

I know 去 has meaning of "to go" but seems this cannot be applied here.

I need your help.

p.s. I've been studying Chinese using past papers of HSK4 skipping getting grades less than 4 of hsk. Why I am doing this is that my mother language is Japanese, so without studying Chinese, I can read Chinese partially(e.g. literal 完全有能力 is completely compatible with japanese). But seems this way of learning is inefficient...

**Tags:** grammar, meaning


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-10-20. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

去 does mean 'go'

1. 他没有认真做 He didn't do it full-heartedly
2. 他没有认真去做 He didn't **go** do it full-heartedly = He didn't **engage** in doing it seriously

You can consider 去 as a helper verb that emphasizes the proactive aspect of the verb -- not simply "do it" but "go do it" (proactively)

More example:

Don't hate the sinner - 不要恨罪人

Don't **go** hate the sinner - 不要**去**恨罪人

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: IMO, 他没有认真去做 = He didn't take heart to do it. 不要去恨罪人 = Not to hate the sinner/person who has sinned.  
> **username_1**: yes, 认真 here sounds more like full-heartedly than seriously  
> **username_2**: Yea, translation is a tricky business.  

---

