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大家好！ I don't really understand the difference between two sentences: 1.他带来了很多衣服; 2. 他带很多衣服来; The 1st one was found on the Internet, but the 2nd one I have "created" by myself. Is the 2nd one correct, and is there any difference in meaning? I count on your help. 谢谢！

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Essentially, your question concerns the positioning of the auxiliary verb 來[来] in a sentence. There are two meanings of 來:

  1. To indicate an observed movement caused by the main verb (帶[带]) towards the speaker

  2. To indicate the start (or in a more abstract sense, consequence) of the action caused by the main verb

It is good practice to place it immediately next to the main verb of the sentence, especially if it only consists of one character. You may also treat 帶來 as a compound verb.

I am in no position to say that the second sentence is ungrammatical, perhaps just a bit too colloquial. Because there are indeed situations where the 來 can be placed after the object (i.e. 很多衣服 in your sentence). In fact, your second sentence even sounds perfectly fine to my Cantonese ear. Here are three grammatical examples in written Chinese where the 來 is placed after the object:

  • The famous nursery rhyme 掀起了你的蓋頭來 [掀起了你的盖头来] (lift your veil [lit. head cover])
  • A primary school text titled 讀出許多東西來 [读出许多东西来] (inferring [lit. read out] a lot of things)
  • Or this biblical excerpt: 「就像一個家主從他庫裡拿出新舊的東西來。」 [就像一个家主从他库里拿出新旧的东西来] (“Like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” Matthew 13:52)

Note that the main verb of these three examples are already compound in nature: 掀起 (lift up), 讀[读]出 (read out/infer), and 拿出 (bring out). It may then be permissible to put the auxiliary verb 來 after the object, perhaps for the sake of readability.

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the first sentence means he brought lots of clothes.the second sentence means he is coming with lots of clothes

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  • The 2nd sentence you say should be read as "he is coming with alot of clothes" He is about to bring it. But can it be read in past tense as a stand alone sentence? Or to render it to "past tense" there should be some "past" context preceding this sentence? Thanks.
    – coobit
    Feb 18, 2021 at 15:20
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他带来了很多衣服; // he brought a lot of clothes.

他带很多衣服来 // he brought a lot of clothes (in order to deal with something).

Basically, the first one states the fact and the second one implies that the person brought those clothes on purpose.

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  • Can 他带很多衣服来 be read in a habitual sence? Like: "He usually brings alot of clothes." That is a strange habit of his.
    – coobit
    Feb 18, 2021 at 15:18
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    @coobit No, the sentence doesn't suggest it's habitual in any case.
    – dan
    Feb 19, 2021 at 1:04
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第一个句子是对的，第二个句子词语顺序并不正确。但是对我中国人来说也是听得懂的。

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