ChineseGrammarWiki/Programmes/B1.old/Grammar-wiki-B1-99.txt

{{Grammar Box}}

You probably learned the [[result complement]] 到 a long time ago, as part of words like 看到 ("to see") and 听到 ("to hear"). But other times it's less clear what the 到 really means. Like the difference between 买 and 买到 or 做 and 做到. What 到 adds is a clearer sense that something has really been achieved.

== The difference 到 makes ==

Adding 到 after a verb makes it very clear that the desired result was achieved. If you looked and you saw, then 到 indicates that. On the other hand, not adding 到 makes it unclear whether or not the desired result was achieved. It can have the effect of making a verb mean "try to ''verb''."  So 做 without 到 is kind of like "try to do," but when you want to make it very clear that results ''were achieved'' or ''must be achieved'', that's when you want to add 到. 

Let's look at another example. The difference between 找 and 找到 is that 找 means "to search" (in other words, "to ''try'' to find"), whereas 找到 means "to ''find''," that the search was successful, and results were achieved. So if one were to say "你一定要找," it would mean "you must try to find it" and "你一定要找到" means "you must ''find'' it."

== Illustrative Examples ==

=== 做 vs. 做到 ===

<div class="liju">
* 我 还 没有 做。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ hái méiyǒu zuò.</span><span class="trans"> I haven‘t done it.</span>
* 我 下 个 星期 可以 做。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ xià gè xīngqī kěyǐ zuò.</span><span class="trans"> I can do it next week.</span>
* 我 相信 你 一定 能 做<em>到</em>。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ xiāngxìn nǐ yīdìng néng zuò<em>dào</em>.</span><span class="trans"> I believe you will be able to do it.</span> 
</div>

=== 买 vs. 买到 ===

<div class="liju">
*我 还 没有 买。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ hái méiyǒu mǎi.</span><span class="trans"> I haven't bought it yet.</span>
*我 没 买<em>到</em>。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ méi mǎi<em>dào</em>.</span><span class="trans"> I didn't buy it.</span>
*这里 很 难 买<em>到</em> 进口 食品。<span class="pinyin">Zhèlǐ hěn nán mǎi<em>dào</em> jìnkǒu shípǐn.</span><span class="trans"> It's hard to buy imported good here.</span>
</div>

=== 学 vs. 学到 ===

<div class="liju">
*我 想 学 中文。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ xiǎng xué Zhōngwén.</span><span class="trans"> I want to learn Chinese.</span>
*我们 今天 学 了 “恭喜发财”。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen jīntiān xué le “gōngxǐ fācái”.</span><span class="trans"> Today we learned "kung hei fat choy." </span>
*在 这个 公司 工作，我 学<em>到</em> 了 很 多 东西。<span class="pinyin">Zài zhège gōngsī gōngzuò, wǒ xué<em>dào</em> le hěn duō dōngxi.</span><span class="trans"> Working for this company, I learned a lot of things.</span>
</div>

=== 拿 vs. 拿到 ===

<div class="liju">
*你 拿 小包，我 拿 大包。<span class="pinyin">Nǐ ná xiǎo bāo, wǒ ná dà bāo.</span><span class="trans"> You take the small bag, I'll take the big bag.</span>
*今天 去 拿 婚纱，不 知道 能 不 能 拿<em>到</em>。<span class="pinyin">Jīntiān qù ná hūnshā, bù zhīdào néng bu néng ná<em>dào</em>.</span><span class="trans">Today I'm going to pick up the wedding dress, not sure if I'll be able to get it or not.</span>
*他 偷偷 进 了 她 的 房间，拿<em>到</em> 了 他 想要 的 东西。<span class="pinyin">Tā tōutōu jìn le tā de fángjiān, ná<em>dào</em> le tā xiǎngyào de dōngxi.</span><span class="trans"> He secretly entered her room and got the thing he wanted to take.</span>
</div>

=== 想 vs. 想到 ===

<div class="liju">
*一定 要 想 一  个办法。<span class="pinyin">Yīdìng yào xiǎng yī gè bànfǎ.</span><span class="trans"> You have to think of a method.</span>
*你 想<em>到</em> 了 什么好办法？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ xiǎng<em>dào</em> le shénme hǎo bànfǎ?</span><span class="trans">Have you thought of any good methods yet? </span>
*我们 都 没 想<em>到</em> 他 会 这么 说。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen dōu méi xiǎng<em>dào</em> tā huì zhème shuō.</span><span class="trans">None of us thought that he would say it like that.</span>
</div>

=== 看 vs. 看到 ===

<div class="liju">
*我 在 看 一些 老 照片。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ zài kàn yīxiē lǎo zhàopiàn.</span><span class="trans"> I'm looking at some old photos.</span>
*看<em>到</em> 这 张 照片，我 想<em>到</em> 了 我 的 女儿。<span class="pinyin">Kàn<em>dào</em> zhè zhāng zhàopiàn, wǒ xiǎng<em>dào</em> le wǒ de nǚ'ér.</span><span class="trans"> After seeing this photo, I thought of my daughter.</span>
*我 看<em>到</em> 他 了，在 那里！<span class="pinyin">Wǒ kàn<em>dào</em> tā le, zài nàlǐ!</span><span class="trans"> I see him, over there! </span>
</div>

=== 追 vs. 追到 ===

<div class="liju">
*怎么 追 女孩子？<span class="pinyin">Zěnme zhuī nǚ háizi?</span><span class="trans"> How do you chase girls? </span>
*那 个 女孩子，你 追<em>到</em>了吗？<span class="pinyin">Nàge nǚháizi, nǐ zhuī<em>dào</em> le ma?</span><span class="trans"> That girl, did you catch her yet? </span>
*如果 你 追<em>到</em>她了，我 就 请 你 喝酒。<span class="pinyin">Rúguǒ nǐ zhuī<em>dào</em> tā le, wǒ jiù qǐng nǐ hējiǔ.</span><span class="trans"> If you can really catch her, I'll treat you to a drink.</span>
</div>

=== 了解 vs. 了解到 ===

<div class="liju">
*我 不 太 了解 这个 人。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ bù tài liǎojiě zhège rén.</span><span class="trans"> I don't really understand this person.</span>
*我们 刚刚 了解<em>到</em> 一些 新 的 信息。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen gānggāng liǎojiě<em>dào</em> yīxiē xīn de xìnxī.</span><span class="trans"> We just understood the new information.</span>
*从 他 那里，我 了解<em>到</em> 了 这个 女人 很 多 事。<span class="pinyin">Cóng tā nàlǐ, wǒ liǎojiě<em>dào</em> le zhège nǚrén hěn duō shì.</span><span class="trans"> From him, I understood a lot of things regarding this girl.</span>
</div>

=== 联系 vs. 联系到 ===

<div class="liju">
*我们 怎么 联系？<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen zěnme liánxì?</span><span class="trans"> How do we get in contact? </span>
*我 一直 想 跟 你 联系，但是 一直 没 联系<em>到</em> 你。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ yīzhí xiǎng gēn nǐ liánxì, dànshì yīzhí méi liánxì<em>dào</em> nǐ.</span><span class="trans"> I always wanted get in contact with you, but I never could get a hold of you.</span>
*你 知道 怎么 能 联系<em>到</em> 他吗？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ zhīdào zěnme néng liánxì<em>dào</em> tā ma?</span><span class="trans">Do you know how to get in contact with him? </span>
</div>

[[Category:B1 grammar points]]
[[Category:Result complement]]

{{Basic Grammar|到|B1|Verb + 到|他 做 <em>到</em> 了 吗？|grammar point|ASGCUSIV}}
{{Similar|Result complements "dao" and "jian"}}
{{Used for|Expressing result}}
{{Structure|Complements}}
{{Subprop|Result complement}}