The complement of degree is headed by a structural particle, de 得. De 得 and the complement are placed right after the main verb. The complement can be a stative verb modified by hěn 很 or other adverbs; it can also be a verbal expression, idiomatic expression or clause. The structure of a sentence with a complement of degree depends on the main verb and whether the verb takes an object or not.

1. When the main verb is an action verb or VV-compound (verb + verb compound, such as gōngzuò 工作, xiūxi 休息, and xuéxí 学习) and it does not take an object, the verb and its complement follow the structure below.
   
   
   verb + de 得 + complement (hěn 很/ adverb + stative verb, or verbal / idiomatic expression, or clause)
   
   
   1. action verb + de + hěn 很 + stative verb
      
      
      
      Tā shuō de hěn hǎo.
      他说得很好。
      He speaks well.
      
      
      Note that hěn 很 should be used unless a comparison is to be made. An adverb modifying the stative verb can replace hěn 很 to further emphasize the stative verb.
      
      
      action verb + de 得 + adverb + stative verb
      
      
      1. 
         Tā shuō de fēicháng hǎo.
         他说得非常好。
         He speaks very well.
      
      
      2. 
         Tā shuō de tèbié hǎo.
         他说得特别好。
         He speaks unusually well.
   
   
   2. VV-verb +de得+hěn很+ stative verb
      
      
      Tā gōngzuò de hěn hǎo
      他工作得很好。
      He works well.
   
   
   3. action verb + de 得 + adverb + stative verb
      
      
      Tā chī de tài duōle, suǒyǐ hěn pàng.
      他吃得太多了，所以很胖。
      He eats too much, so he's fat.
   
   
   4. action verb + de 得 + stative verb + reduplicated stative verb +de 的
      
      
      1. 
         Tā zhǎng de gāo gāo de.
         他长得高高的。
         He has grown very tall.
      
      
      2. 
         Jīntiān tā dǎbàn de piàopiàoliàngliàng de.
         今天她打扮得漂漂亮亮的。
         Today she is very beautifully dressed.
         
         
         Note that the stative verb in A 4.2 has two syllables, ‘piào 漂 ' and ‘liàng 亮 '. If P stands for the first syllable and L stands for the second one, the way to double the word is 'PPLL ', not 'PLPL '.
   
   
   5. action verb + de 得+ verbal expression
      
      
      Tā pǎo de chuǎnbúshàng qì lái.
      他跑得喘不上气来。
      He was out of breath from running.
   
   
   6. action verb + de 得+ idiomatic expression
      
      
      
      Tā xiào de qiányǎnghòuhé.
      他笑得前仰后合。
      He rocks back and forth with laughter.
   
   
   7. action verb + de 得 + clause
      
      
      Tā shuō de wǒ gèng hútu le.
      他说得我更糊涂了。
      He spoke to such an extent that he made me even more confused.


2. When the main verb is an action verb and it TAKES an object or when the verb is a VO-compound (verb + object compound, such as zǒulù 走路 and shuìjiào 睡觉), the verb must be reduplicated before taking de 得 and the complement. Let 's call the first verb 'verb 1.1 ' and the reduplicated verb, 'verb 1.2 '. The complement can be hěn 很 / adverb + stative verb, a verbal or idiomatic expression, or a clause.
   
   
   Verb 1.1 + object + Verb 1.2 + de 得 + complement
   
   
   1. verb 1.1 + object + verb 1.2 + de 得 + hěn 很 + stative verb
      
      
      Tā shuō Zhōngwén shuō de hěn hǎo
      他说中文说得很好。
      He speaks Chinese well.
      
      
      Note that the verb and object before the reduplicated verb simply name the action. They point out what is to be commented on. The verb does not function as the main verb. The 'verb 1.1 + object expression ' can be understood as 'as far as speaking Chinese is concerned ' or 'as for speaking Chinese '. The reduplicated verb functions as the main verb. That is why the complement of degree is placed after it.
   
   
   2. VO-compound + verb 1.2 + de 得 + hěn 很 + stative verb
      
      
      Tāzǒulùzǒudehěn kuài.
      他走路走得很快。
      He walks fast.
   
   
   3. VO-compound + verb 1.2 + de 得 + verbal expression
      
      
      Tāpǎobùpǎodechuǎnbúshàng qì lái.
      他跑步跑得喘不上气来。
      He was out of breath from running.
   
   
   4. verb 1.1 + object + verb 1.2 + de 得 + idiomatic expression
      
      
      Tāhējiǔhēdeyūntóu-zhuànxiàng.
      他喝酒喝得晕头转向。
      He is dizzy and disoriented from drinking.
   
   
   5. action verb + de 得 + clause
      
      
      Tāchuīiúchuīdeshéi dōu bù xǐhuan tā.
      他吹牛吹得谁都不喜欢他。
      He boasts about himself to such an extent that no one likes him.


3. When the main verb is a stative verb, the complement can be a stative verb indicating degree such as lìhài 厉害 and duō 多, a verbal or idiomatic expression such as bù déliǎo 不得了 or a clause. Note that expressions such as de hěn 得很, de huang 得慌, bù déliǎo 不得了, and de duō 得多 have become idiomatic expressions. They are also called intensifiers by some scholars. So here we do not regard them as de 得 +adverb or de 得 +verbal expression. They will be regarded as idiomatic expressions. This is because they share the same properties as idiomatic expressions when they are negated. When the main verb is a stative verb, the stative verb and its complement follow the structure below.
   
   
   stative verb + de 得 + complement
   
   
   1. stative verb + de 得 + stative verb
      
      
      Jīntiān wǒ kùndelìhài.
      今天我困得厉害。
      I am terrible sleepy today.
   
   
   2. stative verb + de 得 + stative verb duō 多 used for comparison
      
      
      Běijīng bǐ Shànghǎi lěngdeduō.
      北京比上海冷得多。
      Beijing is much colder than Shanghai.
   
   
   3. stative verb + de 得 + verbal expression
      
      
      Tā èdehūnguòqule.
      他饿得昏过去了。
      He was so hungry that he fainted.
   
   
   4. stative verb + de 得 + idiomatic expression
      
      
      1. 
         Tāmen mángdebùkě kāijiāo.
         他们忙得不可开交。
         They are extremely busy.
      
      
      2. 
         Yàoshì nǐ èdehuangjiù chī diǎnr dōngxi.
         要是你饿得慌就吃点儿东西。
         If you are very hungry, snack on something.
   
   
   5. stative verb + de 得 + clause
      
      
      Tiānqi lěngdeshéi dōu bù xiǎng chūqū.
      天气冷得谁都不想出去。
      It is so cold that no one wants to go out.