h. 到 tau‘, arrived.

218. In many cases a substantive follows the verb, when it is unnecessary in English.

走路 ’tseu lú‘, to walk.織布 tsuh pú‘, to weave.
射箭 zok tsien‘, to shoot.紡紗 ’fong só, to spin.
搖船 yau zén, to scull.活命 weh ming‘, to live.

Obs. i. So also 話說話 wó‘ seh wó‘, to speak. The words seh wó‘, words, are as to sense superfluous. Yet many of these examples may be closely translated; e.g. 領路 ’ling lú‘, lead the way; 燒飯 sau van‘, to boil rice, to cook.

Obs. ii. When the substantive comes under the government of another verb its usual companion is frequently appended; e.g. 尋飯吃 dzing van‘ k’iuh, seek for food, where 吃 is superfluous.

Obs. iii. When the sense does not require a substantive, the reason of its introduction must be sought in the rhythmical construction of sentences, peculiar and essential to the Chinese language.

219. Compound verbs are formed by the apposition of a transitive verb and adjective.