The characters 上 shàng, 下 xià, 出 chū, and 过 guò can appear by themselves with action verbs, i.e., without 来 lái or 去 qù.
Consequently, depending on the verbs they are connected to, they have a particular meaning.
Among the most typical applications are the following:
(1) 上 shàng
(a) putting on the body or the surface of something:
他穿上外套。Tā chuān shàng wàitào. (He puts on his coat.)
妈妈给孩子戴上帽子。Māmā gěi háizi dài shàng màozi. (Mother puts a hat on the child.)
天气冷了，出门记得戴围巾。Tiānqì lěngle, chūmén jìdé dài wéijīn. (It’s cold, remember to wear a scarf when you go out.)
(b) closing something:
风太大了，把窗户关上吧。Fēng tài dàle, bǎ chuānghù guānshàng ba. (It’s too windy, close the windows.)
把门关上。Bǎmén guānshàng. (Close the door.)
闭上眼睛，快睡觉。 Bì shàng yǎnjīng, kuài shuìjiào. (Close your eyes and go to sleep.)
(d) making an addition:
你们去游泳吗？带上我吧。Nǐmen qù yóuyǒng ma? Dài shàng wǒ ba. (Are you going swimming? take me.)
这袋苹果，算上桌子上的一共五公斤。Zhè dài píngguǒ, suàn shàng zhuōzi shàng de yīgòng wǔ gōngjīn. (This bag of apples is five kilograms, including the ones on the table.)
(2) 下 xià
(a) removing, detaching:
他摘下眼镜，躺在沙发上休息。Tā zhāi xià yǎnjìng, tǎng zài shāfā shàng xiūxí. (He took off his glasses and lay down on the sofa to rest.)
他脱下外套，坐了下来。Tā tuō xià wàitào, zuòle xiàlái. (He took off his coat and sat down.)
他摘下一朵花送给女朋友。Tā zhāi xià yī duǒ huā sòng gěi nǚ péngyǒu. (He plucked a flower and gave it to his girlfriend.)
(b) noting down:
她在本子上记下了经理的日程。Tā zài běnzi shàng jì xiàle jīnglǐ de rìchéng. (She jotted down the manager’s schedule in her notebook.)
妈妈记下了他的电话号码。Māmā jì xiàle tā de diànhuà hàomǎ. (Mom took down his phone number.)
(3) 出 chū revealing:
他提出了一个很好的方案。Tā tíchūle yīgè hěn hǎo de fāng’àn. (He came up with a great proposal.)
她想出了一个好办法。Tā xiǎng chūle yīgè hǎo bànfǎ. (She came up with a good idea.)
(4) 过 guò doing in excess:
我坐过站了。Wǒ zuòguò zhànle. (I’ve sat and stood.)
我开过头了。Wǒ kāi guòtóule. (I’m overdoing it.)
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