Verbs can take potential complements that indicate whether or not
the action is actually possible. They are useful in Chinese to say
if an action can take place.
Affirmative Pattern
Structurally, potential complements are closely related to both
result complements
and direction
complements, so it helps to be familiar with those first. The
most important and commonly used potential complements are derived
from other complements such as the following:
- Verb + 见
e.g. 看见, 听见 (result complements)
- Verb + 懂
e.g. 看懂, 听懂 (result complements)
- Verb + 完
e.g. 吃完, 做完, 用完, 花完 (result complements)
- Verb + Adj. e.g. 看清楚,
听明白, 洗干净 (result complements)
- Verb + 到
e.g. 找到, 买到, 收到 (result complements)
- Verb + Direction e.g. 上来, 下去, 进去, 起来, 走过去, 爬上去 (direction
complements)
Potential complements can be positive or negative. What this
means is fairly intuitive - potential complements can be used to
express that something can happen or that it
can't.
Structure
Examples
- 他 一个人 吃 得 完 这么 多 饭 吗 ？Tā yīgèrén
chī de wán zhème duō fàn ma? Can he eat all the food by himself?
- 我 找 不 到 我 的 手机 了 。Wǒ zhǎo
bu dào wǒ de shǒujī le.I can't
find my cellphone.
- 在 上海 买 得 到 这 个 牌子 的 手表 吗 ？Zài
Shànghǎi mǎi de dào zhè gè páizi de shǒubiǎo ma?
Can you buy this brand of watch in
Shanghai?
- 早上 五点 出发 ， 孩子们 起 得 来 吗 ？ Zǎoshang
wǔdiǎn chūfā, háizi men qǐ de lái ma? We're leaving at five a.m.; will the kids be able to
come?
- 这么 高 的 山 ，你 爬 得 上去 吗 ？Zhème gāo
de shān, nǐ pá de shàngqù ma? The mountain is so high. Can you make it to the
top?
Negative Pattern
Structure
Examples
- 大家 都 看 不 懂 这 句 话 。Dàjiā dōu kàn
bu dǒng zhè jù huà.Nobody can
understand this sentence.
- 你 的 声音 太 小 了 ，我们 听 不 见 。Nǐ de
shēngyīn tài xiǎo le, wǒmen tīng bu
jiàn.Your voice is too soft. We can't
hear you.
- 我 没 戴 眼镜 ，看 不 清楚 。Wǒ méi dài
yǎnjìng, kàn bu qīngchu.When I
don't wear glasses, I can't see clearly.
- 这 件 衬衫 太 脏 了 ，我 洗 不 干净 。Zhè jiàn
chènshān tài zāng le, wǒ xǐ bu gānjìng.This shirt is too dirty, I can't clean it.
- 门 太 小 了 ，我 的 车 进 不 去 。Mén tài
xiǎo le, wǒ de chē jìn bu qù.The door is too small. My car can't go through
it.
Potential Complements
with Objects
Objects in sentences with potential complements can occur either
after the complement or at the beginning of a sentence.
A few examples:
- 我 听 不 见 你 说 的 话 。I can't hear what
you said.
- 你 说 的 话 我 听 不 见 。I can't hear what
you said.
- 你 吃 得 完 这 一 大 碗 面 吗 ？Can you
finish eating this big bowl of noodles?
- 这 一 大 碗 面 你 吃 得 完 吗 ？Can you
finish eating this big bowl of noodles?
- 你 在 上海 吃 不 到 这样 的 小吃 。You can't
eat this kind of street food in Shanghai.
- 这样 的 小吃 你 在 上海 吃 不 到 。You can't
eat this kind of street food in Shanghai.
Advanced Potential
Complements
There are actually quite a few potential complements out there,
and this article touches on some of the simplest and most common
ones. Be aware that there are many more, but they all follow the
same basic pattern outlined here. You can also see our article on
advanced
potential complements.
See also
Sources and and further
reading
Books
Websites
Yale
Category:**URGENT** Category:B1 grammar
points Category:Potential complement