Result complements

Result complements are one of the most common and useful types of complements. Often the complement is simply an adjective like 好 (hǎo) or a single syllable like 完 (wán). They indicate that an action has led to a certain result and make that result clear to the listener.

Contents

Using Adjectives

好 (hǎo) implies that something is done to completion or done well. Forming a result complement with 好 has a very similar meaning to forming one with 完. It expresses that the action has been completed successfully.

错 (cuò) is used to express that an action has been performed incorrectly in some way, resulting in a mistake (错). This pattern covers what is often expressed with the adverb "incorrectly" in English.

Other adjectives commonly used as result complements include: 晚 (wǎn), 饱 (bǎo), 坏 (huài), 清楚 (qīngchu), 明白 (míngbai), 干净 (gānjìng), 破 (pò).

Structure

For the basic structure, you'll almost always see a 了 after the complement:

Subj. + Verb + Adj. + 了 (+ Obj.)

To negate a result complement, use 没 instead of 不:

Subj. + 没 + Verb + Adj. (+ Obj.)

Examples

When using result complements, it's very common to make the object a topic. This means the object is moved to the beginning of the sentence and the subject is often omitted.

Some examples:

Using One-Syllable Verbs

Besides adjectives, there are a few single-syllable verbs which can also be used as result complements. Some examples include 到 (dào), 见 (jiàn), 懂 (dǒng), 会 (huì), 走 (zǒu), 掉 (diào). There really aren't a lot of these, which is part of the reason why these words are usually seen as one verb instead of two verbs.

Structure

For the basic structure, you'll often see a 了 after the complement:

Subj. + Verb + [One-syllable Verb] +了 (+ Obj.)

Examples

Compared with Potential Complement

Result and Potential Complements

Result Complement Aff. Potential Complement Neg. Potential Complement 做 完 做 得 完 做 不 完 听 懂 听 得 懂 听 不 懂 看 清楚 看 得 清楚 看 不 清楚 洗 干净 洗 得 干净 洗 不 干净

Used in 把 Sentences

Although we have avoided 把 sentences in this article for the sake of simplicity, you may have noticed that sentences which feature result complements often also use 把. This is because 把 sentences and result complements work particularly well together, as they both deal with the result of an action or the "disposal" of an object. Apart from result complements involving perception and psychological verbs, most result compounds work nicely in 把 sentences.

Result complements in 把 sentences

Subject 把 Object RC compound verb 我 把 杯子 摔 坏 了 。 他 把 我 的 电脑 修 好 了 。 小偷 把 我 的 钱包 偷 走 了 。 我们 把 房间 打扫 干净 了 。

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites