Difference between revisions of "Result complements "-dao" and "-jian""

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{{Basic Grammar|到|B1|V + 到 / 见|听 <em>到</em> 了 吗?|grammar point|ASGWNGEP}}
 
{{Basic Grammar|到|B1|V + 到 / 见|听 <em>到</em> 了 吗?|grammar point|ASGWNGEP}}
 
{{Rel char|见}}
 
{{Rel char|见}}
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{{Used for|Expressing Result}}

Revision as of 02:53, 15 June 2012

Structure

Result complements are a huge topic in Chinese grammar, but you can approach them in stages. The structure you come across the most is a verb with 到 (dào):

Subject + Verb + 到 + Object

What 到 does is indicate that the outcome of the verb is achieved - what its result is. Without a result complement, the sentence would describe only the action itself. To illustrate, 想 "to think" is the action of thinking, whereas 想到 "to think (of something)" is a the result of that process.

The complement 见 is very similar to 到, and it is used in the same way:

Subject + Verb + 见 + Object

However, 见 is generally only used after verbs involving sense, like 听 and 看, whereas 到 can be attached to a large variety of verbs.

Examples

  • 了 吗?
  • 你 看 那 个 人 了 吗?
  • 我 买 了 一 些 水果。
  • 小 时候 没 学过 乐器, 我 感到 很 遗憾。
  • 你 的 手机 号码 里 怎么 有 那么 多 个 八?没 想 到 你 那么 迷信!

As in the last sentence, this structure can be negated using 没.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books