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 (wán). 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 (+ Obj.)

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. (+ Obj.)

• 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), 会 (huì), 走 (zǒu), 掉 (diào). There really aren't a lot of these.

Structure

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

Subj. + Verb + [One-syllable Verb] (+ Obj.) +了

Examples

• 他们 这么 小 ，真的 能 听 懂 吗 ？Tāmen zhème xiǎo, zhēnde néng tīng dǒng ma?They are so young. Can they really understand?
• 我 看 了 ，但是 没 看 懂 。Wǒ kàn le, dànshì méi kàn dǒng.I read it, but I didn't really understand it.

• 我 女儿 学 会 了 游泳 。Wǒ nǚ'ér 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.

• 他 不小心 推 倒 了 一 个 老人 。Tā bù xiǎoxīn tuī dǎo le yī gè lǎorén.He pushed over an old people 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 ？Shéi rēng diào le wǒ de wàzi?Who threw away my socks?
• 我 卖 掉 了 我 的 旧 手机 。Wǒ mài diào le wǒ de jiù shǒujī.I sold my old cell phone.

Compared with Potential Complement

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

Used in 把 Sentences

You might have noticed that quite a few of the example sentences in this article are 把 sentences. This is because 把 sentences and result complements work particularly well together, as they both deal with the result of an action or the disposal of an object.

Apart from result complements involving perception and psychological verbs, most result compounds work nicely in 把 sentences.

Result complements in 把 sentences

Subject	把	Object	RC compound verb
我	把	杯子	摔 坏 了	。
他	把	我 的 电脑	修 好 了	。
小偷	把	我 的 钱包	偷 走 了	。
我们	把	房间	打扫 干净 了	。

See also

• Result complement "xiaqu"
• Advanced result complements
• Result complement "-wan" for finishing
• Result complements "dao" and "jian"

Sources and further reading

Books

• A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法) (pp. 273 - 284) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 97-9) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 43- 4) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 233-4) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2) (pp. 87 - 88) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp. 35) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (pp. 223) [ →buy]

Websites

• Mandarin Essential Grammar (Yale): The Complement of Result