Lesson 29: Resultative complement

Put a verb or adjective after a verb to show the result of the action; the position of 了 and the object.

Hanyu textbook · Hanyu 2 · Lesson 29

我听懂了老师的话。

Wǒ tīng dǒng le lǎoshī de huà.

I understood what the teacher said.

Explanation

The verbs 完, 懂, 见, 开, 上, 到, 给, 成 and the adjectives 好, 对, 错, 熟, 早, 晚… can all be placed after a verb as a resultative complement to express the result of the action. In the negative, 了 after the complement must be dropped (the negative uses 没(有) before the verb). The affirmative-negative question form is "……了没有？".

When a verb has both a resultative complement and an object, the object must come after the resultative complement; the aspect particle 了 must come after the resultative complement and before the object.

上

indicates that two or more things come into contact, or that one thing is attached to another. 成: indicates that an action makes one thing become another; the result of the change can be good or bad. 到: indicates that the action has achieved its goal; indicates that through the action something reaches a certain place (the object is a word of place); indicates that the action lasts until a certain time.

Structure

1
Vverbbổ ngữ kết quả (+ 了) / 没(有)Vverbbổ ngữ
The negative uses 没(有) and drops 了 after the complement; the affirmative-negative question uses ……了没有？
- 我听懂了老师的话。
  Wǒ tīng dǒng le lǎoshī de huà.
  I understood what the teacher said.
- 我看见玛丽了。她在操场打太极拳呢。
  Wǒ kànjiàn Mǎlì le. Tā zài cāochǎng dǎ tàijíquán ne.
  I saw Mary. She is doing Tai Chi on the sports ground.
- 今天的练习我做完了。
  Jīntiān de liànxí wǒ zuò wán le.
  I've finished today's homework.
- 这课课文我没有看懂。
  Zhè kè kèwén wǒ méiyǒu kàn dǒng.
  I haven't understood this text yet.
- 这件衣服没洗干净。
  Zhè jiàn yīfu méi xǐ gānjìng.
  This set of clothes hasn't been washed clean.
- 这道题我没做对。
  Zhè dào tí wǒ méi zuò duì.
  I haven't gotten this sentence right.
- A：你看见玛丽了没有？ B：看见了。
  A: Nǐ kànjiàn Mǎlì le méiyǒu? B: Kànjiàn le.
  A: Did you see Mary? B: Yes, I did.
- A：今天的作业你做完了没有？ B：还没做完呢。
  A: Jīntiān de zuòyè nǐ zuò wán le méiyǒu? B: Hái méi zuò wán ne.
  A: Have you finished today's homework? B: Not yet.
2
Vverbbổ ngữ kết quả了optionalOobject
The object comes after the resultative complement; 了 comes after the complement and before the object.
- 我答错了两道题。
  Wǒ dá cuò le liǎng dào tí.
  I got two answers wrong.
- 我看错题了。
  Wǒ kàn cuò tí le.
  I misread the question.
- 我没看见你的词典。
  Wǒ méi kànjiàn nǐ de cídiǎn.
  I can't find your dictionary.
- 我只翻译对了一个句子。
  Wǒ zhǐ fānyì duì le yí ge jùzi.
  I translated only one sentence correctly.
3
Vverb上
Two things come into contact; or one thing is attached to another.
- 关上门吧。
  Guān shàng mén ba.
  Close the door.
- 请同学们合上书，现在听写。
  Qǐng tóngxuémen hé shàng shū, xiànzài tīngxiě.
  Everyone, please close your books; now we'll do dictation.
- 请在这儿写上你的名字。
  Qǐng zài zhèr xiě shàng nǐ de míngzi.
  Please write your name here.
- 你穿上这件大衣试试。
  Nǐ chuān shàng zhè jiàn dàyī shìshi.
  Try putting on this jacket.
4
Vverb成…
An action makes one thing become another; the result can be good or bad.
- 这篇课文，老师要我们改成叙述体。
  Zhè piān kèwén, lǎoshī yào wǒmen gǎi chéng xùshù tǐ.
  The teacher asked us to change this text into a narrative form.
- “是不是”，他总说成“四不四”。
  “Shì bu shì”, tā zǒng shuō chéng “sì bu sì”.
  He keeps saying "是不是" as "四不四".
- 这是个“我”字，你写成“找”字了。
  Zhè shì ge “wǒ” zì, nǐ xiě chéng “zhǎo” zì le.
  This is the character "我"; you wrote it as the character "找".
5
Vverb到Oobject
Achieving a goal; reaching a place; lasting until a point in time.
- 我找到王老师了。
  Wǒ zhǎodào Wáng lǎoshī le.
  I found Mr. Wang.
- 罗兰买到那本书了。
  Luólán mǎidào nà běn shū le.
  Luolan managed to buy that book.
- 我昨天很晚才回到家。
  Wǒ zuótiān hěn wǎn cái huídào jiā.
  Yesterday I got home very late.
- 我们学到二十九课了。
  Wǒmen xué dào èrshíjiǔ kè le.
  We have studied up to Lesson 29.
- 星期六早上我睡到九点才起床。
  Xīngqīliù zǎoshang wǒ shuì dào jiǔ diǎn cái qǐchuáng.
  On Saturday morning I slept until nine o'clock before getting up.
- 我每天晚上都学到十一二点。
  Wǒ měitiān wǎnshang dōu xué dào shíyī èr diǎn.
  Every evening I study until eleven or twelve o'clock.

Common mistakes

Don't say: *我看题错了 (correct: 我看错题了); *我学这本书完了 (correct: 这本书我学完了); *我已经做了完今天的作业 (correct: 我已经做完了今天的作业).

Practice

29 questions in 3 sets. One at a time, checked instantly, with explanations.

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