Difference between revisions of "Complement"

 
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Complements are not a form of flattery (those are compliments)<ref>For more info on this common mistake, see [http://grammar.about.com/od/words/a/complement.htm this website].</ref>; they're a special type of structure found in modern Mandarin and have no exact counterpart in English. The Chinese word for complement is 补语 (bǔyǔ).
+
{{AKA|补语 (bǔyǔ)|objective complement}}
  
Complements are a bit hard to define, but you'll generally find them following verbs (or sometimes adjectives). They can be as short as one character, or practically as long as a sentence. According to [http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp?_encoding=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&asin=B001J0ADWA&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B001J0ADWA A Practical Chinese Grammar for Foreigners], complements "show the duration, quantity, degree, result, direction or possibility of an action; or to illustrate the state, number, degree of a thing"<ref>[http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp?_encoding=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&asin=B001J0ADWA&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B001J0ADWA A Practical Chinese Grammar for Foreigners], p. 271</ref>.  As is often the case, plentiful examples will help clarify!
+
A complement is a word or phrase following a verb (or sometimes an adjective) that provides additional meaning to the verb phrase. Complements are not the same as objects, and can be as short as one character, or practically as long as a sentence. Complements provide additional information associated with verbs, such as degree, result, direction or possibility, and are extremely common.
  
== Summary of complements ==
+
Complements are not a form of flattery (those are compliments)<ref>For more info on this common mistake, see [http://grammar.about.com/od/words/a/complement.htm this website].</ref>; they're much more versatile than that!
  
{| class="wikitable" style="width:50em"
+
== Summary of complement types ==
|+Summary of Complement Types
 
|-
 
! Type of Complement !! Verb !! Complement !! English
 
|-
 
| [[Result complement]] || 做 || 完 || to finish doing
 
|-
 
| [[Result complement]] || 买 || 到 || to (successfully) buy
 
|-
 
| [[Potential complement]] || 做 || 得完 || can finish doing
 
|-
 
| [[Potential complement]] || 听 || 不懂 || (to listen but) not understand
 
|-
 
| [[Direction complement]] || 跑 || 过来 || to run over (here)
 
|-
 
| [[Direction complement]] || 放 || 上去 || to place on (something)
 
|-
 
| [[Quantity complement]] || 看 || 两遍 || to watch twice
 
|-
 
| [[Quantity complement]] || 工作 || 三天 || to work for three days
 
|-
 
| [[Degree complement]] || 洗 || 得很好 || to wash very well
 
|-
 
| [[Degree complement]] || 好 || 极了 || fantastic
 
|-
 
| [[Location complement]] || 住 || 在北京 || to live in Beijing
 
|-
 
| [[Location complement]] || 来 || 到中国 || to come to China
 
|}
 
  
== Result complement ==
+
Because Chinese complements have no exact counterpart in English, they can be a little bit difficult to get the hang of at first. As is often the case, plentiful examples will help clarify.
  
[[Result complement]]
+
Below you'll find all the major complement types (as well as some of the minor ones), with representative examples of each.  The first four ([[result complement]], [[potential complement]], [[direction complement]], and [[degree complement]]) are the critical ones.  Click on the complement names for more detailed explanations and plenty of additional examples.
  
== Potential complement ==
+
'''Main Complement Types, with Examples:'''
  
[[Potential complement]]
+
<table class="table table-bordered table-striped">
 +
<tr>
 +
<th style="width:25%">Type of Complement</th>
 +
<th style="width:10%">Verb</th>
 +
<th style="width:10%">Particle</th>
 +
<th style="width:15%">Complement</th>
 +
<th style="width:40%">English</th>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td rowspan="5">[[Result complement]]</td><td class="liju">做</td><td> </td><td class="liju">完</td><td style="font-size:100%">to finish doing</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="liju">看</td><td> </td><td class="liju">见</td><td style="font-size:100%">to see</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="liju">买</td><td> </td><td class="liju">到</td><td style="font-size:100%">to buy (successfully)</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="liju">计划</td><td> </td><td class="liju">好</td><td style="font-size:100%">to plan (properly)</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="liju">说</td><td> </td><td class="liju">清楚</td><td style="font-size:100%">to speak clearly</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td rowspan="7">[[Potential complement]]</td><td class="liju">去</td><td> </td><td class="liju">不了</td><td style="font-size:100%">cannot go</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="liju">去</td><td class="liju">得</td><td class="liju">了</td><td style="font-size:100%">can go</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="liju">听</td><td> </td><td class="liju">不到</td><td style="font-size:100%">cannot hear</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="liju">看</td><td class="liju">得</td><td class="liju">见</td><td style="font-size:100%">can see</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="liju">听</td><td> </td><td class="liju">不懂</td><td style="font-size:100%">to (listen but) not understand</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="liju">看</td><td class="liju">得</td><td class="liju">懂</td><td style="font-size:100%">to be able to read and understand</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="liju">吃</td><td class="liju">得</td><td class="liju">完</td><td style="font-size:100%">can finish eating</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td rowspan="4">[[Direction complement]]</td><td class="liju">放</td><td></td><td class="liju">下</td><td style="font-size:100%">to put down</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="liju">走</td><td> </td><td class="liju">上去</td><td style="font-size:100%">to walk up</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="liju">飞</td><td> </td><td class="liju">回来</td><td style="font-size:100%">to fly back (here)</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="liju">看</td><td> </td><td class="liju">过来</td><td style="font-size:100%">to look (over) this way</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td rowspan="4">[[Degree complement]]</td><td class="liju">说</td><td class="liju">得</td><td class="liju">很好</td><td style="font-size:100%">to speak (very) well</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="liju">好*</td><td> </td><td class="liju">极了</td><td style="font-size:100%">great</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="liju">累*</td><td> </td><td class="liju">死了</td><td style="font-size:100%">tired "to death"</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="liju">脏*</td><td class="liju">得</td><td class="liju">不得了</td><td style="font-size:100%">terribly dirty</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td rowspan="2">[[State complement]]</td><td class="liju">想</td><td class="liju">得</td><td class="liju">很简单</td><td style="font-size:100%">to think very simply</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="liju">搞</td><td class="liju">得</td><td class="liju">很乱</td><td style="font-size:100%">to make a mess (of things)</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td rowspan="2">[[Quantity complement]]</td><td class="liju">去</td><td> </td><td class="liju">一次</td><td style="font-size:100%">to go once</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="liju">工作</td><td> </td><td class="liju">十个小时</td><td style="font-size:100%">to work for 10 hours</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td rowspan="2">[[Location complement]]</td><td class="liju">住</td><td> </td><td class="liju">在北京</td><td style="font-size:100%">to live in Beijing</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="liju">来</td><td> </td><td class="liju">到中国</td><td style="font-size:100%">to come to China</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td rowspan="2">[[Time complement]]</td><td class="liju">等</td><td> </td><td class="liju">到明年</td><td style="font-size:100%">to wait until next year</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="liju">生</td><td> </td><td class="liju">于69年</td><td style="font-size:100%">to be born in '69</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
</table>
 +
<nowiki />* OK, these are [[Adjectives|adjectives]], not verbs!
  
== Direction complement ==
+
== Composition of complements ==
  
[[Direction complement]]
+
You might be wondering: ''what is the complement, exactly?'' For example, is it another verb, or an adjective or what?  The answer is that it varies.  It can be a verb, an adjective, a prepositional phrase, a measure word phrase, or a long, complex phrase.  The following chart breaks it down.
  
(Compound direction complements)
+
'''Structure of Complements:'''
  
== Quantity complement ==
+
<table class="table table-bordered table striped">
 +
<tr>
 +
<th style="width:25%">Word Preceding Complement</th>
 +
<th style="width:25%">Complement Content</th>
 +
<th style="width:25%">Complement Types</th>
 +
<th style="width:25%">Example</th>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td rowspan="8" style="font-size:120%">[[Verbs|Verb]]</td><td rowspan="3" style="font-size:110%">[[Verbs|Verb]]</td><td style="font-size:100%">[[Result complement]]</td><td class="liju">做<em>完</em></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td style="font-size:100%">[[Potential complement]]</td><td class="liju">看<em>得懂</em></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td style="font-size:100%">[[Direction complement]]</td><td class="liju">走<em>回来</em></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td rowspan="2" style="font-size:110%">[[Adjectives|Adjective]]</td><td style="font-size:100%">[[Result complement]]</td><td class="liju">做<em>好</em></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td style="font-size:100%">[[State complement]]</td><td class="liju">想<em>得很简单</em></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td rowspan="2" style="font-size:100%">[[Prepositional phrases|Prepositional phrase]]</td><td style="font-size:100%">[[Location complement]]</td><td class="liju">住<em>在北京</em></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td style="font-size:100%">[[Time complement]]</td><td class="liju">生<em>于69年</em></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td style="font-size:110%">[[Measure words|Measure word]] phrases</td><td style="font-size:100%">[[Quantity complement]]</td><td class="liju">去<em>一次</em></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td rowspan="5" style="font-size:120%">[[Adjectives|Adjective]]</td><td rowspan="2" style="font-size:110%">[[Adjectives|Adjective]]</td><td style="font-size:100%">[[Degree complement]]</td><td class="liju">做<em>完</em></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td style="font-size:100%">[[Result complement]]</td><td class="liju">做<em>好</em></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td rowspan="2" style="font-size:110%">[[Adverbs|Adverb]]</td><td style="font-size:100%">[[Degree complement]]</td><td class="liju">好<em>极了</em></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td style="font-size:100%">[[Result complement]]</td><td class="liju">做<em>好</em></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td rowspan="2" style="font-size:110%">Other phrase</td><td style="font-size:100%">[[State complement]]</td><td class="liju">响<em>得让人发疯</em></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
</table>
  
[[Quantity complement]]
+
== When to use complements ==
  
== Degree complement ==
+
You might be wondering: when do I use a complement? That's a good question, because often there are non-complement ways to express what the complement expresses.  For example, do you use the 不了 complement after a verb, or do you put 不能 before the verb?  Do you use an adverb ''before'' the verb (快快地跑), or do you put the same information in a complement ''after'' the verb (跑得快)?  The sad answer is that it depends. There are many factors involved.
  
[[Degree complement]]
+
As a learner, the best thing you can do is to memorize the complements you encounter the most often, and start using them.  The longer you've been using them, the more natural they'll feel, and when to use them will become clearer and clearer.  One good place to start is our list of [[common verbs with complements]].
  
== Location complement ==
+
== Grammar Points for Complements ==
 +
{{Structure Page|Complements}}
  
[[Location complement]]
+
== Sources and further reading ==
  
== References ==
+
=== Books ===
<references/>
 
  
== Sources and further reading ==
+
* [[A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法) ]] (pp. 242 - 243, pp. 271 - 329) [http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp?_encoding=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&asin=B001J0ADWA&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B001J0ADWA →buy]
 +
* [[Chinese Grammar Without Tears (简明汉语语法学习手册) ]] (Chapter 6: Complements) [http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&asin=B0041UGAJU&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B0041UGAJU →buy]
 +
* [[New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3)]] (pp. 200 - 201) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/756191251X/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=756191251X →buy]
 +
* [[New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2)]] (pp. 87 - 88) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561911297/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=7561911297 →buy]
 +
* [[Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition]] (pp. 97-9) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415372615/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0415372615 →buy]
 +
* [[Practicing HSK Grammar (语法精讲精炼)]] (pp, 186-187) [http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&asin=B001N6R7DI&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B001N6R7DI →buy]
 +
 
 +
=== Websites ===
  
* Grammar book: [http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp?_encoding=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&asin=B001J0ADWA&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B001J0ADWA 外国人实用汉语语法(中英文对照)] (pp. 242 - 243, pp. 271 - 329)
+
* Wikipedia: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complement_(linguistics) Complement (linguistics)]
 +
* Pinyin.info: [http://pinyin.info/readings/texts/verb_complement.html Verb-Complement Constructions]
 +
* Baidu Baike (Chinese): [http://baike.baidu.com/view/146650.htm 补语]
 +
* Blog entry (Chinese): [http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_610d94db0100hj5u.html 状态补语]
  
 +
[[Category:Table]]
 
[[Category:Sentence Elements]]
 
[[Category:Sentence Elements]]

Latest revision as of 07:22, 22 November 2018

Also known as: 补语 (bǔyǔ) and objective complement.

A complement is a word or phrase following a verb (or sometimes an adjective) that provides additional meaning to the verb phrase. Complements are not the same as objects, and can be as short as one character, or practically as long as a sentence. Complements provide additional information associated with verbs, such as degree, result, direction or possibility, and are extremely common.

Complements are not a form of flattery (those are compliments)[1]; they're much more versatile than that!

Summary of complement types

Because Chinese complements have no exact counterpart in English, they can be a little bit difficult to get the hang of at first. As is often the case, plentiful examples will help clarify.

Below you'll find all the major complement types (as well as some of the minor ones), with representative examples of each. The first four (result complement, potential complement, direction complement, and degree complement) are the critical ones. Click on the complement names for more detailed explanations and plenty of additional examples.

Main Complement Types, with Examples:

Type of Complement Verb Particle Complement English
Result complement to finish doing
to see
to buy (successfully)
计划 to plan (properly)
清楚to speak clearly
Potential complement 不了cannot go
can go
不到cannot hear
can see
不懂to (listen but) not understand
to be able to read and understand
can finish eating
Direction complementto put down
上去to walk up
回来to fly back (here)
过来to look (over) this way
Degree complement很好to speak (very) well
好* 极了great
累* 死了tired "to death"
脏*不得了terribly dirty
State complement很简单to think very simply
很乱to make a mess (of things)
Quantity complement 一次to go once
工作 十个小时to work for 10 hours
Location complement 在北京to live in Beijing
到中国to come to China
Time complement 到明年to wait until next year
于69年to be born in '69

* OK, these are adjectives, not verbs!

Composition of complements

You might be wondering: what is the complement, exactly? For example, is it another verb, or an adjective or what? The answer is that it varies. It can be a verb, an adjective, a prepositional phrase, a measure word phrase, or a long, complex phrase. The following chart breaks it down.

Structure of Complements:

Word Preceding Complement Complement Content Complement Types Example
VerbVerbResult complement
Potential complement得懂
Direction complement回来
AdjectiveResult complement
State complement得很简单
Prepositional phraseLocation complement在北京
Time complement于69年
Measure word phrasesQuantity complement一次
AdjectiveAdjectiveDegree complement
Result complement
AdverbDegree complement极了
Result complement
Other phraseState complement得让人发疯

When to use complements

You might be wondering: when do I use a complement? That's a good question, because often there are non-complement ways to express what the complement expresses. For example, do you use the 不了 complement after a verb, or do you put 不能 before the verb? Do you use an adverb before the verb (快快地跑), or do you put the same information in a complement after the verb (跑得快)? The sad answer is that it depends. There are many factors involved.

As a learner, the best thing you can do is to memorize the complements you encounter the most often, and start using them. The longer you've been using them, the more natural they'll feel, and when to use them will become clearer and clearer. One good place to start is our list of common verbs with complements.

Grammar Points for Complements

A2 Complements

Grammar Point (English) Pattern Examples
Potential complement "-bu dong" for not understanding Verb + 不懂 我 听不
Result complement "-wan" for finishing Verb + 完 (+ 了) 我 说 了。
Result complements "-dao" and "-jian" Verb + 到 / 见 了 吗 ?

B1 Complements

Grammar Point (English) Pattern Examples
Degree complement Verb + 得⋯⋯ 你 做 得 不错
Direction complement Verb (+ Direction) + 来 / 去 我们 走 过去 吧 。
Direction complement "-qilai" Verb / Adj.+ 起来 天气 热 起来
Potential complement Verb + 得 / 不 + Complement 完 / 做
Result complement "-xiaqu" Verb + 下去 这个 故事 太 无聊 了 ,我 听 不 下去
Result complements Verb + 好 / 完 / 错 我们 吃 了 。

B2 Complements

Grammar Point (English) Pattern Examples
Advanced degree complements Adj. + 得 + 很 / 不得了 / 要命 / 不行 我 老婆 的 工作 轻松 得很
Advanced potential complements Verb + 得了 / 不了 今晚 我 有事 ,去 不 了
Advanced result complements "zhu", "kai", and "chulai" Verb + 住 / 开 / 出(来) 抓住 那个 小偷 !
Advanced uses of direction complement "-qilai" Verb + 起来 宝宝,你 应该 把 你 的 玩具 起来
Complement "-huai le" Verb + 坏了 了。
Complement "-zhao" Verb + 着 宝宝 刚 睡
Tricky uses of "dao" Verb + 到 他 做 了 吗 ?
Using "lai" and "qu" when "verbing around" Verb + 来 + Verb + 去 他 考虑 考虑 , 最后 还是 决定 回 学校 。



Sources and further reading

Books

Websites

  • For more info on this common mistake, see this website.