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  <h1></h1>

  <p>Verbs can take <a href="potential_complement" title="wikilink">potential complements</a> that indicate whether or not the action is actually possible. They are useful in Chinese to say if an action can take place.</p>

  <h2>Contents</h2>

  <ol>
    <li>Structure<br/></li>

    <li>Examples<br/></li>

    <li>See also<br/></li>

    <li>Sources and further reading<br/></li>

    <ol>
      <li>Books<br/></li>
    </ol>
  </ol>

  <h2 id="affirmative-pattern">Affirmative Pattern</h2>

  <p>Structurally, potential complements are closely related to both <a href="result_complement" title="wikilink">result complements</a> and <a href="direction_complement" title="wikilink">direction complements</a>, 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:</p>

  <ul>
    <li>Verb + <a href="%E8%A7%81" class="uri" title="wikilink">见</a> e.g. <span class="hanzi">看见, 听见</span> (result complements)</li>

    <li>Verb + <a href="%E6%87%82" class="uri" title="wikilink">懂</a> e.g. <span class="hanzi">看懂, 听懂</span> (result complements)</li>

    <li>Verb + <a href="%E5%AE%8C" class="uri" title="wikilink">完</a> e.g. <span class="hanzi">吃完, 做完, 用完, 花完</span> (result complements)</li>

    <li>Verb + <a href="Adjective" title="wikilink">Adj.</a> e.g. <span class="hanzi">看清楚, 听明白, 洗干净</span> (result complements)</li>

    <li>Verb + <a href="%E5%88%B0" class="uri" title="wikilink">到</a> e.g. <span class="hanzi">找到, 买到, 收到</span> (result complements)</li>

    <li>Verb + Direction e.g. <span class="hanzi">上来, 下去, 进去, 起来, 走过去, 爬上去</span> (direction complements)</li>
  </ul>

  <p>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.</p>

  <h3 id="structure">Structure</h3>

  <div>
    <div class="deux">
      Verb + <span class="hanzist">得</span> + Complement
    </div>
  </div>

  <h3 id="examples">Examples</h3>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">他 一个人 吃 得 完 这么 多 饭 吗 ？</span><span class="pinyin">Tā yīgèrén chī de wán zhème duō fàn ma?</span> <span>Can he eat all the food by himself?</span></li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我 找 不 到 我 的 手机 了 。</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ zhǎo bu dào wǒ de shǒujī le.</span><br/><span>I can't find my cellphone.</span></li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">在 上海 买 得 到 这 个 牌子 的 手表 吗 ？</span><span class="pinyin">Zài Shànghǎi mǎi de dào zhè gè páizi de shǒubiǎo ma?</span> <span>Can you buy this brand of watch in Shanghai?</span></li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">早上 五点 出发 ， 孩子们 起 得 来 吗 ？</span> <span class="pinyin">Zǎoshang wǔdiǎn chūfā, háizi men qǐ de lái ma?</span> <span>We're leaving at five a.m.; will the kids be able to come?</span></li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">这么 高 的 山 ，你 爬 得 上去 吗 ？</span><span class="pinyin">Zhème gāo de shān, nǐ pá de shàngqù ma?</span> <span>The mountain is so high. Can you make it to the top?</span></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2 id="negative-pattern">Negative Pattern</h2>

  <h3 id="structure-1">Structure</h3>

  <div>
    <div class="deux">
      Verb + <span class="hanzi">不</span> + Complement
    </div>
  </div>

  <h3 id="examples-1">Examples</h3>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">大家 都 看 不 懂 这 句 话 。</span> <span class="pinyin">Dàjiā dōu kàn bu dǒng zhè jù huà.</span><br/><span> Nobody can understand this sentence.</span></li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你 的 声音 太 小 了 ，我们 听 不 见 。</span> <span class="pinyin">Nǐ de shēngyīn tài xiǎo le, wǒmen tīng bu jiàn.</span><br/><span> Your voice is too soft. We can't hear you.</span></li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我 没 戴 眼镜 ，看 不 清楚 。</span> <span class="pinyin">Wǒ méi dài yǎnjìng, kàn bu qīngchu.</span><br/><span> When I don't wear glasses, I can't see clearly.</span></li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">这 件 衬衫 太 脏 了 ，我 洗 不 干净 。</span> <span class="pinyin">Zhè jiàn chènshān tài zāng le, wǒ xǐ bu gānjìng.</span><br/><span> This shirt is too dirty, I can't clean it.</span></li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">门 太 小 了 ，我 的 车 进 不 去 。</span> <span class="pinyin">Mén tài xiǎo le, wǒ de chē jìn bu qù.</span><br/><span> The door is too small. My car can't go through it.</span></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2 id="potential-complements-with-objects">Potential Complements with Objects</h2>

  <p>Objects in sentences with potential complements can occur either after the complement or at the beginning of a sentence.</p>

  <p>A few examples:</p>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span><span class="hanzi">我 听 不 见 你 说 的 话 。</span> I can't hear what you said.</span></li>

      <li><span><span class="hanzi">你 说 的 话 我 听 不 见 。</span> I can't hear what you said.</span></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span><span class="hanzi">你 吃 得 完 这 一 大 碗 面 吗 ？</span> Can you finish eating this big bowl of noodles?</span></li>

      <li><span><span class="hanzi">这 一 大 碗 面 你 吃 得 完 吗 ？</span> Can you finish eating this big bowl of noodles?</span></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span><span class="hanzi">你 在 上海 吃 不 到 这样 的 小吃 。</span> You can't eat this kind of street food in Shanghai.</span></li>

      <li><span><span class="hanzi">这样 的 小吃 你 在 上海 吃 不 到 。</span> You can't eat this kind of street food in Shanghai.</span></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2 id="advanced-potential-complements">Advanced Potential Complements</h2>

  <p>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 <a href="advanced_potential_complements" title="wikilink">advanced potential complements</a>.</p>

  <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>

  <h2 id="sources-and-and-further-reading">Sources and and further reading</h2>

  <h3 id="books">Books</h3>

  <ul>
    <li>Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 71)</li>

    <li>Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 191)</li>

    <li>Boya Chinese Elementary Starter 1 (<span class="hanzi">博雅汉语初经起步篇</span>) (pp. 197)</li>

    <li>&gt;Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (pp. 291)</li>

    <li>Practicing HSK Grammar (<span class="hanzi">语法精讲精炼</span>) (pp. 125)</li>

    <li>Contemporary Chinese 2 (<span class="hanzi">当代中文2</span>) (pp. 63)</li>

    <li>New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (<span class="hanzi">新实用汉语课本3</span>) (pp. 99)</li>
  </ul>

  <h3 id="websites">Websites</h3>

  <h4 id="yale">Yale</h4>

  <ul>
    <li><a href="http://comet.cls.yale.edu/mandarin/content/potential/grammar/potential.htm"> The Potential Complement</a></li>

    <li><a href="http://comet.cls.yale.edu/mandarin/content/degree/grammar/Degree-6.htm"> Potential Complement And Degree Complement In Contrast</a></li>
  </ul>
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