Result complements

Result complements or one of the most common and useful types of complements. Often the complement is simply an adjective like 好 (hǎo) or a single syllable like 完 (). They indicate that an action has led to a certain result and make that result clear to the listener.

Using Adjectives

好 (hǎo) implies that something is done to completion or done well. Forming a result complement with 好 has a very similar meaning to forming one with 完. It expresses that the action has been completed successfully.

错 (cuò) is used to express that an action has been performed incorrectly in some way, resulting in a mistake (错). This pattern covers what is often expressed with the adverb "incorrectly" in English.

Other adjectives commonly used as result complements include: 清楚 (qīngchu), 明白 (míngbai), 干净 (gānjìng), 晚 (wǎn), 饱 (bǎo), 坏 (huài), 破 (pò).

Structure

For the basic structure, you'll almost always see a 了 after the complement:

Subj. + Verb + Adj. + 了

Examples

• 我们 吃 好 了 。Wǒmen chī hǎo le.We finished eating.
• 对不起 ，我 记 错 了 。Duìbuqǐ, wǒ jì cuò le.Sorry, I remember it wrong.
• 你们 听 清楚 了 吗 ？Nǐmen tīng qīngchu le ma?Did you hear clearly?
• 他 玩 坏 了 哥哥 的 玩具 。Tā wán huài le gēge de wánjù.He broke his older brother's toy.

To negate a result complement, use 没 instead of 不 (and no 了):

Subj. + 没 + Verb + Adj.

• 你 没 吃 饱 吗 ？Nǐ méi chī bǎo ma?Are you not full?
• 他 没 修 好 我 的 电脑 。Tā méi xiū hǎo wǒ de diànnǎo.He didn't fix my computer.
• 我 还没 想 好 。Wǒ hái méi xiǎng hǎo.I haven't thought it through yet.
• 我 没 看 清楚 那个 人 的 脸 。Wǒ méi kàn qīngchu nàge rén de liǎn.I didn't see the guy's face clearly.

When using result complements, it's very common to make the object a topic. This means the object is moved to the beginning of the sentence and the subject is often omitted:

Topic + Verb + Adj. + 了

• 这 个 字 写 错 了。Zhège zì xiě cuò le.You wrote this character wrong.
• 你 的 鞋 已经 穿 坏 了 。Nǐ de xié yǐjīng chuān huài le.Your shoes are worn out.
• 杯子 摔 坏 了 。Bēizi shuāi huài le.The cup is broken.
• 房间 打扫 干净 了 吗 ？Fángjiān dǎsǎo gānjìng le ma?Is your room all cleaned up?

Using One-syllable Verbs

Besides adjectives, there are a few single-syllable verbs which an also be used as result complements. Some examples include 到 (dào), 见 (jiàn), 懂 (dǒng), 走 (zǒu), 掉 (diào). There really aren't a lot of these.

Examples

• 女儿 已经 学 会 了 游泳 。Nǚ'ér yǐjīng xué huì le yóuyǒng.My daughter has learned how to swim.
• 这个 学生 还没 学 会 写 汉字 。Zhège xuéshēng hái méi xué huì xiě hànzì.This student hasn't learned how to write Chinese characters.

• 老师 拿 走 了 我 的 iPad 。 Lǎoshī ná zǒu le wǒ de iPad.The teacher took away my iPad.
• 小偷 偷 走 了 我 的钱包 。Xiǎotōu tōu zǒu le wǒ de qiánbāo.The thief stole my wallet.

• 奶奶 不小心 摔 倒 了 。Nǎinai bù xiǎoxīn shuāi dǎo le.Grandma had a fall by accident.
• 你 撞 倒 了 我 的 自行车 。Nǐ zhuàng dǎo le wǒ de zìxíngchē.You knocked over my bike.

• 谁 扔掉 了 我 的 袜子 ？Who threw away my socks?
• 太 热 了 ，外套 脱 掉 吧 。Tài rè le, wàitào tuō diào bā.It‘s too hot. Let's take off our jackets.
• 我 刚刚 卖 掉 了 我 的 旧 手机 。Wǒ gānggāng mài diào le wǒ de jiù shǒujī.I just sold my old cell phone.

Compared with Potential Complements

Result and Potential Complements

Result Complement	Aff. Potential Complement	Neg. Potential Complement
做 完	做 得 完	做 不 完
听 懂	听 得 懂	听 不 懂
看 清楚	看 得 清楚	看 不 清楚
洗 干净	洗 得 干净	洗 不 干净

See also

All result complements work particularly well in a 把 sentence.

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 43- 4) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 233-4) →buy