subject + verb + resultative complement + 了 (le)
subject + verb + resultative complement + object + 了 (le)
Mandarin Chinese Articles
How to use verb-resultative complement compounds in Mandarin Chinese?
By: Lina Shen Thu Jan 04 2024
Mandarin chineseComplements
A verb-resultative complement compound, or VRCC for short, is a fancy name for a very common two-character (or sometimes three-character) verb form in Mandarin Chinese. It is a verbNo definition set for verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. character plus an additional character, which is either a verb or adjectiveNo definition set for adjectiveLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. character, which shows the result of the action expressed by the first verb.
In English, you may use different verbs to show a result (e.g. “to look” vs. “to see”), while a lot of verbs in Mandarin don’t indicate the result of the action. In this case, we need to have a VRCC to express the result of the verb. The simple way to do it is to add an additional character after the main verb. For example:
Verb | Verb with resultative component |
|---|---|
看 (kàn) to look | 看见 (kànjiàn) to see |
找 (zhǎo) to look for | 找到 (zhǎodào) to find |
吃 (chī) to eat | 吃完 (chīwán) to finish eating |
洗 (xǐ) to wash | 洗干净 (xǐgānjìng) to wash it clean |
In the examples above, we have the basic verbs 看 (kàn, to look), 找 (zhǎo, to look for), 吃 (chī, to eat), and 洗 (xǐ, to wash), none of which indicates the result of the action. When the additional verbs 见 (jiàn, too see) / 到 (dào, to arrive) and the adjectives 完 (wán, finished) / 干净 (gānjìng, clean) are added after the basic verbs, it forms a verb-resultative complement compound.
In this post, we will discuss how to form a VRCC and how you can use it as a pro. Let’s explore!
Table of Contents
What are resultative complements in Mandarin Chinese?
We have seen earlier that there are lots of verbs in Mandarin Chinese that don’t express results; therefore, an additional word, usually a verb or an adjective, must be placed after the verb to indicate this result. These additional verbs and adjectives are called resultative complements. The newly formed verb form is known as the verb-resultative complement compound (VRCC).
Below, you will find the most common result complements in Mandarin:
Resultative Complement | Examples of verb-resultative complement compound (VRCC) |
|---|---|
见 (jiàn) to see | 看见 (kànjiàn) to see 听见 (tīngjiàn) to hear |
到 (dào) to get / arrive | 找到 (zhǎodào) to find 买到 (mǎidào) to buy and get it |
住 (zhù) to reside | 记住 (jìzhù) to bear in mind 拿住 (názhù) to hold tight |
会 (huì) able | 学会 (xuéhuì) to master |
开 (kāi) to open | 打开 (dǎkāi) to open up 切开 (qiēkāi) to cut it open |
懂 (dǒng) understood | 听懂 (tīngdǒng) to listen and understand 看懂 (kàndǒng) to look and understand |
完 (wán) finished | 吃完 (chīwán) to finish eating 做完 (zuòwán) to finish doing |
破 (pò) broken | 割破 (gēpò) to cut open 看破 (kànpò) to see through |
好 (hǎo) good / done | 写好 (xiěhǎo) to be done writing 放好 (fànghǎo) to put it well |
错 (cuò) wrong | 说错 (shōucuò) to say it wrong 读错 (dúcuò) to read it wrong |
干净 (gānjìng) clean | 洗干净 (xǐ gānjìng) to wash it clean 扫干净 (sǎo gānjìng) to sweep it clean |
清楚 (qīngchǔ) clear | 读清楚 (dú qīngchǔ) to read it clearly 看清楚 (kàn qīngchǔ) to see clearly |
Let’s use the verb 割 (gē, to cut) with a VRCC to convey the result of an action:
他用镰刀割草。
(Tā yòng liándāo gē cǎo.)
He cut grass with a sickle.
我的手指被刀割破了。
(Wǒ de shǒuzhǐ bèi dāo gēpò le.)
My finger was cut open by the knife.
Did you notice any difference between these two sentences? Here is the answer:
In the first sentence, we use the verb 割 (gē) without VRCC to indicate the action (to cut grass).In the second sentence, we not only use the verb 割 (gē), but we also add a VRCC (破 (pò, broken)) to indicate the result of being cut: your finger was cut and the skin was broken.
How to use VRCC in positive patterns in Mandarin Chinese?
In a VRCC sentence, we always add the aspectual particle 了 (le) after the resultative complements when there is no objectNo definition set for objectLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. in he sentence or at the end of the sentence when an object appears. Here 了 (le) indicates the completion of an action, which matches the purpose of a resultative complement. This is the VRCC pattern with and without an object:
你吃完了吗？
(Nǐ chīwán le ma?)
Have you finished eating?
大家都听懂了。
(Dàjiā dōu tīngdǒng le.)
Did everyone get it?
(lit.) Did everyone listen and understand?
你做好晚饭了吗？
(Nǐ zuòhǎo wǎnfàn le ma?)
Is dinner done cooking?
他写完作业了。
(Tā xiěwán zuòyè le.)
He finished writing homework.
我们终于买到西瓜了。
(Wǒmen zhōngyú mǎidào xīguā le.)
We finally bought a watermelon.
Important
Please note that when an object is present, the object cannot be placed between the verb and the resultative complement. It has to be placed after the verb-resultative complement compound. For instance, “I see him” in Mandarin will need to use 看见 (kànjiàn) as a verb-resultative complement compound; in this sentence the object 他 (tā, him) is present, it has to be placed after the verb-resultative complement compound 看见 (kànjiàn)
✓ 我看见他了。
Wǒ kànjiàn tā le.
✗我看他见了。
Wǒ kàn tā jiàn le.
How to use VRCC in negative patterns in Mandarin Chinese?
When it comes to a negative sentence with a VRCC, we will use the negation words 不 (bù) or 没 (méi). Make sure to pay attention to the difference of using 不 (bù) and 没 (méi) in the VRCC sentence. Keep reading to find out more!
When to use the negation word 没 (méi)?
When 没 (méi) is used in a VRCC sentence, it is placed before the verb to indicate the result has not happened yet. Please note that here no aspectual particle 了 (le) is needed because the action has not been completed. The pattern is like this:
subject + 没 (méi) + verb + resultative complement + (object)
今天我没看见他。
(Jīntiān wǒ méi kànjiàn tā.)
I haven't seen him today.
(“seeing him” has not happened yet)
我没记住老师说的话。
(Wǒ méi jìzhù lǎoshī de huà.)
I didn’t memorize the teacher's words.
(“memorizing the words” didn’t happen)
你们没找到王医生吗？
(Nǐmen méi zhǎodào wáng yīsheng ma?)
Didn’t you find Doctor Wang?
(“finding the doctor” failed)
When to use the negation word 不 (bù)?
When 不 (bù) is used in a VRCC sentence, it is placed between the verb and the resultative complement to indicate “to fail to do something.” What’s more, the aspectual particle 了 (le) is always present and, when there is an object, it is placed after the object. The pattern is like this:
subject + verb + 不 (bù) + resultative complement (+ object) + 了 (le)
我吃不完晚饭了。
(Wǒ chī bù wán wǎnfàn le.)
I can’t finish the dinner.
你们买不到电影票了吗？
(Nǐmen mǎi bù dào diànyǐngpiào le ma?)
Can’t you get movie tickets?
你的手表呢？
(Nǐ de shǒubiǎo ne?)
Where is your watch?
我找不到了。
(Wǒ zhǎo bù dào le.)
They can’t find (it).
我洗不干净这条裤子了。
(Wǒ xǐ bù gānjìng zhè tiáo kùzi le.)
I can't wash this pair of pants clean.
Please note that if the aspectual particle 了 (le) is left out in the sentences above, these sentences will be indicating a potential complement, which indicates whether an action is possible.
How to use VRCC in a 把 (bǎ) structure in Mandarin Chinese?
The 把 (bǎ) sentence structure is used when you want to emphasize that a change has happened to the object of the sentence. When a VRCC is used in a 把 (bǎ) structure, the pattern is like this:
subject + 把 (bǎ) + object + verb + resultative complement + 了 (le)
我把这本书看完了。
(Wǒ bǎ zhèběn shū kànwán le.)
I finished reading this book.
他把手割破了。
(Tā bǎ shǒu gēpò le.)
He cut his hand.
你把这个字读错了。
(Nǐ bǎ zhège zì dúcuò le.)
You read this word wrong.
How to use VRCC in a 被 (bèi) structure in Mandarin Chinese?
The 被 (bèi) structure is the passive voice in Mandarin Chinese, and a VRCC can also be used with this structure. Here is how it is formed:
subject + 被 (bèi) + ( agent) + verb + resultative complement + 了 (le)
瓶盖被我打开了。
(Pínggài bèi wǒ dǎkāi le.)
The bottle cap was opened up by me.
我们说的话被他听见了。
(Wǒmen shuōde huà bèi tā tīngjiàn le.)
The words we said were heard by him.
披萨饼被吃完了。
(Pīsàbǐng bèi chīwán le.)
The pizza was eaten up.
To sum up
Mandarin employs an interesting way to indicate the result of actions by adding a resultative complement, which is another verb or an adjective, after the verb. The compound is called verb-resultative complement compound (VRCC).
In positive sentences, you need to add the particle 了 (le) to indicate the completion of the action.
In negative sentences, you use the negative particles:
不 (bù) for present references. The aspectual particle 了 (le) is always present.
没 (méi) for past references. The aspectual particle 了 (le) is not present.
A VRCC can also be used in a 把 (bǎ) structure and in a passive structure.
Use these exercises to help you practice your knowledge of VRCC in Mandarin Chinese!
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How to use verb-resultative complement compounds in Mandarin Chinese~Activities
