Resultative complements
A2 结果补语 27 / 56
In short
A resultative complement is a second verb or adjective glued straight onto the main verb to say how the action turned out: 吃完 (chī wán, eat-finish) = “finish eating,” 听懂 (tīng dǒng, listen-understand) = “understand (by ear).” The pair is tight - the object and the particle 了 (le) go after it (吃完了饭), and to say the result was NOT reached you use 没 (méi), never 不: 没听懂 (méi tīng dǒng) = “didn’t catch it.”
The rule
Chinese verbs don’t change form, so to say an action succeeded, finished, or came out a certain way, you attach the result directly to the verb. The main verb names the action; the complement names its outcome. Together they behave almost like a single word.
Step 1 - Build the compound: Verb + Complement. The complement is a short verb or adjective describing the result of the action.
Subject + Verb + Complement (+ 了) + Object
- 看 (kàn, look) + 见 (jiàn, perceive) -> 看见 (kàn jiàn) = see
- 吃 (chī, eat) + 完 (wán, finish) -> 吃完 (chī wán) = finish eating
- 洗 (xǐ, wash) + 干净 (gānjìng, clean) -> 洗干净 (xǐ gānjìng) = wash clean
Step 2 - Nothing splits the pair. The complement sits immediately after the verb - no object, no 了 in between. The object and the completed-action 了 come after the whole compound: 我吃完了饭。 (Wǒ chī wán le fàn.) = “I finished my meal,” never 我吃了完饭. You can also close the sentence with 了 after the object: 我吃完饭了。 (Wǒ chī wán fàn le.) - both are natural.
Step 3 - Negate with 没(有), and drop 了. Because the complement claims a result was reached, negating it says the result was not reached - and Chinese marks an unrealized outcome with 没(有) (méiyǒu): 我没吃完。 (Wǒ méi chī wán.) = “I didn’t finish eating.” As with any 没 sentence, the 了 disappears. Do not use 不 here (see mistakes) - 不 belongs to a different structure, the potential form 听不懂 “can’t understand,” taught in Potential and extreme-degree complements.
Step 4 - Ask about the result. Add 吗 (ma), or tack 没有 onto the end for an A-not-A question: 你听懂了吗？ / 你听懂了没有？ (Nǐ tīng dǒng le méiyǒu?) = “Did you understand (or not)?”
Forms & patterns
The workhorse complements - memorize each verb + complement pair as a unit:
| Complement | Pinyin | Result it adds | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 完 | wán | finished, used up | 做完 (zuò wán) get done |
| 到 | dào | reach, attain, succeed | 找到 (zhǎo dào) find |
| 见 | jiàn | perceive (see / hear) | 看见 (kàn jiàn) see |
| 懂 | dǒng | understand | 听懂 (tīng dǒng) understand |
| 好 | hǎo | done, ready | 做好 (zuò hǎo) get finished |
| 会 | huì | master a skill | 学会 (xué huì) learn |
| 错 | cuò | wrongly | 写错 (xiě cuò) miswrite |
| 对 | duì | correctly | 说对 (shuō duì) say right |
| 清楚 | qīngchu | clearly | 看清楚 (kàn qīngchu) see clearly |
| 饱 | bǎo | full (from eating) | 吃饱 (chī bǎo) eat one’s fill |
The same verb across statement, negation and question - note that 了 vanishes under 没:
| Function | Form | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statement | 我看见他了。 | Wǒ kàn jiàn tā le. | I saw him. |
| Negation | 我没看见他。 | Wǒ méi kàn jiàn tā. | I didn’t see him. |
| Yes/no question | 你看见他了吗？ | Nǐ kàn jiàn tā le ma? | Did you see him? |
| A-not-A question | 你看见他了没有？ | Nǐ kàn jiàn tā le méiyǒu? | Did you see him or not? |
Examples
- 我吃完饭了。 (Wǒ chī wán fàn le.) - I’ve finished eating.
- 你听懂了吗？ (Nǐ tīng dǒng le ma?) - Did you understand?
- 我没听懂。 (Wǒ méi tīng dǒng.) - I didn’t catch it.
- 我找到工作了。 (Wǒ zhǎo dào gōngzuò le.) - I found a job.
- 我看见你妹妹了。 (Wǒ kàn jiàn nǐ mèimei le.) - I saw your younger sister.
- 作业我写完了。 (Zuòyè wǒ xiě wán le.) - I’ve finished the homework.
- 我学会了游泳。 (Wǒ xué huì le yóuyǒng.) - I’ve learned to swim.
- 你说错了。 (Nǐ shuō cuò le.) - You said it wrong.
- 我吃饱了。 (Wǒ chī bǎo le.) - I’m full.
Common mistakes
- 我吃了完饭。 -> 我吃完饭了。 (Wǒ chī wán fàn le.) - 了 cannot split the verb-complement pair; it goes after the whole unit.
- 我不听懂。 -> 我没听懂。 (Wǒ méi tīng dǒng.) - a result that failed to happen is negated with 没, not 不. (不 + result means “can’t,” a different, potential structure.)
- 我没找到了工作。 -> 我没找到工作。 (Wǒ méi zhǎo dào gōngzuò.) - once 没 marks the outcome as unreached, drop 了.
- 我完吃饭。 -> 我吃完饭。 (Wǒ chī wán fàn.) - the complement follows the verb; it can never lead.
Tips
- Read the compound as “verb-THEN-result”: 吃完 = eat -> finished, 看懂 = read -> understood, 找到 = look-for -> got it. The complement is the payoff of the action.
- 见 vs 懂: 看见/听见 mean only perceive (catch sight/sound of); 看懂/听懂 mean perceive and grasp the meaning. 我听见了 = “I heard a sound”; 我听懂了 = “I got what was said.”
- Negate with 没, always. If you feel the urge to say 不 + result, what you actually want is the potential form (听不懂 “can’t understand”) - a separate structure in Potential and extreme-degree complements.
- Learn the top pairs as whole words: 吃完, 看见, 听懂, 找到, 做好, 学会, 吃饱. They come up constantly and each acts like one lexical item.