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<h1 id="potential-verb-complements">Potential Verb Complements</h1>
<p>A potential verb complement is used to describe the capability of carrying out an action, such as being capable of speaking Chinese or being capable of finishing one’s homework. A potential complement is formed from the following three elements. 1. an action verb 2. 得 de (for affirmative) or 不 bu (for negative) 3. a resultative (apart from 在, 给 and 错) or directional complement.</p>
<p>For examples</p>
<blockquote>
<p>看 得 见 走 不 进 教室 去<br /> kàn de jiàn zǒu bu jìn jiàoshì qù<br /> To be able to see To be unable to walk into the classroom</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The following examples demonstrate how potential verb complements are used in colloquial Chinese. If you can’t hear someone, you might say to him or her:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>我 听 不 见 你 说 的 话。<br /> wǒ tīng bu jiàn nǐ shuō de huà<br /> I can’t hear what you are saying.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If the door of the classroom is locked, you might say to your teacher:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>教 室 门 关 着，我 们 走 不 进 去。<br /> jiàoshì mén guān zhe wǒmen zǒu bu jìn qù <br /> The classroom door is closed and we can’t get in.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If you have too much homework for the day, you might say to your teacher:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>今 天 的 练 习太 多 了，我 们 作 不 完。<br /> Jīntiānde liànxí tài duō le wǒmen zuòbu wán<br /> There are too many exercises and we can’t finish them today.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The following list consists of those commonly used potential verb complements which have not devolved from resultative and directional verb complements.</p>
<table>
<colgroup>
<col width="31%" />
<col width="15%" />
<col width="53%" />
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<thead>
<tr class="header">
<th>Verbs</th>
<th>Potential complements</th>
<th>Examples</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr class="odd">
<td>吃 chī to eat<br />说 shuō to speak，<br />写 xiě to write<br />作 zuò to do, to cook</td>
<td>得/不了<br />to be able/unable to</td>
<td>他一个人 作 不 了 这 件 事。<br />tā yí ge rén zuò bu liǎo zhè jiàn shì <br />He can’t deal with this matter on his own.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>拿 ná to take<br />走 zǒu to walk<br />跑 pǎo to run</td>
<td>得/不动 <br />to be able/unable to move</td>
<td>东 西 不 多，我 拿 得 动。<br />dōngxi bu duō, wǒ ná de dòng <br />There isn’t so much stuff; I can take it (on my own).</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>住 zhù to live, to stay<br />坐 zuò to sit, to seat<br />站 zhàn to stand</td>
<td>得/不下 <br />to have/don’t have room for</td>
<td>这 间 房 住 得 下几 个 人？<br />zhè jiān fang zhù de xià jǐ ge rén <br />How many people can this room accommodate?</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>放 fàng to put<br />照 zhào to take (a photo)</td>
<td>得/不上<br />can/cannot be fitted on/in</td>
<td>后 边 的 房 子 照 得 上 吗？<br />hòu biān de fángzi zhào de shàng ma <br />Can the house in the background be fitted into the photo?</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>买 mǎi to buy<br />吃 chī to eat<br />喝 hē to drink</td>
<td>得/不起 <br />can/cannot afford</td>
<td>我 买 不 起 这儿 的 房 子。<br />wǒ mǎi bù qǐ zhèr de fángzi <br /> can’t afford to buy the houses round here.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Assignments Frequently asked questions Click on the following links to view the answers</p>
<ol style="list-style-type: decimal">
<li>What are potential complements?</li>
<li>Are there any PVC which are only used idiomatically?</li>
<li>How can I form a sentence with potential complements?</li>
<li>Can I use the particle 了 for completed action in a sentence which has a potential complement?</li>
<li>How do you differentiate complements of degree (得 construction) from potential complements?</li>
<li>Are 能 constructions and potential verb complements interchangeable?</li>
</ol>