〜ていく: Going On Doing & Changing From Now (Meaning + Examples)
What it means
いく ("to go") moves things away from the speaker — in space or in time. Bolt it onto a て-form and the action takes on that outward direction. Concretely, 〜ていく does two things. First, it links two actions in sequence: you do something, then you go (食べていく = eat here, then leave). Second, with a verb of change it means a trend that starts now and rolls forward into the future (増えていく = will keep increasing).
The thread tying both uses together is movement away from "here and now." Keep that picture in mind and the pattern stays intuitive.
ヤッタンはお弁当を持っていく。
ヤッタンは おべんとうを もって いく。
Yattan takes a lunchbox along (with him).
持っていく = carry it and go = 'take along.'
モチはご飯を食べていきました。
モチは ごはんを たべて いきました。
Mochi ate a meal and then headed off.
Do the action, then go.
これから暑くなっていきます。
これから あつく なって いきます。
From now on it will keep getting hotter.
A change continuing into the future.
How to form it
Take the plain て-form of any verb and add いく. It conjugates as a normal verb (いく → いきます, いった, いかない), so the whole tense lives on いく, not on the first verb.
| Verb | て-form | + いく | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 持つ (carry) | 持って | 持っていく | take along |
| 食べる (eat) | 食べて | 食べていく | eat, then go |
| 歩く (walk) | 歩いて | 歩いていく | go on foot |
| なる (become) | なって | なっていく | will keep becoming |
| 増える (increase) | 増えて | 増えていく | will keep increasing |
In casual speech ていく often shrinks to てく: 持ってく, 食べてく. You'll hear it constantly, so recognize it.
Use 1: Do something, then go
Here いく keeps its literal "go" sense. The て-form is the action you finish first; いく is the departure that follows.
先生は傘を持っていきました。
せんせいは かさを もって いきました。
The teacher took an umbrella along.
ヤッタンの弟は走っていった。
ヤッタンの おとうとは はしって いった。
Yattan's little brother ran off.
走っていく = run and go away from us.
今日は朝ご飯を食べていきます。
きょうは あさごはんを たべて いきます。
Today I'll eat breakfast and then head out.
A handy member of this group is 連れていく ("take a person along") versus 持っていく ("take a thing along"). Both are everyday verbs built on exactly this pattern.
Use 2: A change continuing from now
Pair 〜ていく with a verb of change — なる, 増える, 減る, 変わる, 続ける — and it describes a trend moving forward from the present. The starting point is now; the arrow points at the future.
日本語を勉強し続けていきます。
にほんごを べんきょうし つづけて いきます。
I'll keep on studying Japanese (from here on).
続けていく = keep doing it into the future.
ヤッタンの日本語はどんどん上手になっていく。
ヤッタンの にほんごは どんどん じょうずに なって いく。
Yattan's Japanese will keep getting better and better.
〜になっていく builds on [なる](/grammar/n5/naru).
町の人口はこれから減っていくでしょう。
まちの じんこうは これから へって いくでしょう。
The town's population will probably keep shrinking from now on.
Words like これから ("from now"), だんだん, and どんどん ("gradually / steadily") pair naturally with this use, since they too point at ongoing future change.
The key contrast: 〜ていく vs 〜てくる
This is the heart of the lesson. いく goes away; くる comes toward. That single difference flips the meaning of the whole phrase:
- 〜ていく = movement away from the speaker, or change from now into the future. 暑くなっていく = "it'll keep getting hotter (going forward)."
- 〜てくる = movement toward the speaker, or change up to now. 暑くなってきた = "it has been getting hotter (up to this point)."
So 持っていく is "take it (away from here)," while 持ってくる is "bring it (here)." And 増えていく looks ahead, while 増えてきた looks back at how things reached the present. Think of now as the dividing line: いく steps past it, くる arrives at it.
桜が散っていく。
さくらが ちって いく。
The cherry blossoms keep falling (and going away).
だんだん寒くなってきた。
だんだん さむく なって きた。
It has gradually gotten colder (up to now).
てくる = change leading up to the present.
Common mistakes
- Conjugating the wrong verb. Tense goes on いく, not the て-form verb: 食べていきました (✓), not 食べましたいく.
- Mixing up いく and くる direction. 持っていく = take away; 持ってくる = bring here. Pick by where the thing ends up.
- Using ていく for a change up to now. A trend reaching the present is 〜てきた: 暑くなってきた (✓), not 暑くなっていった for "it's gotten hot lately."
- Forgetting it can be literal. 歩いていく just means "go on foot" — not every 〜ていく is about future change.
Quick recap
- 〜ていく = て-form + いく; tense lives on いく.
- Use 1: do an action, then go (持っていく = take along).
- Use 2: a change from now into the future (暑くなっていく).
- Core image: movement away from the here-and-now.
- Mirror it with 〜てくる (toward you / up to now).
Your turn
Choose between 〜ていく and 〜てくる, and conjugate いく correctly.
Start the 5-question drill →Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between 〜ていく and 〜てくる?
いく moves away from the speaker (or describes change from now into the future); くる moves toward the speaker (or change up to now). 持っていく = take it away; 持ってくる = bring it here. 暑くなっていく looks ahead; 暑くなってきた looks back.
Does 〜ていく always mean future change?
No. It often keeps its literal 'go' sense: 食べていく ('eat, then go'), 歩いていく ('go on foot'). The future-change meaning appears mainly with verbs of change like なる or 増える.
Which verb takes the tense and politeness?
いく does. The first verb stays in plain て-form, and you conjugate いく: 持っていきます, 持っていった, 持っていかない.
What is てく?
It's the casual contraction of ていく. 持ってく = 持っていく, 食べてく = 食べていく. Very common in speech.