Difference between revisions of "Complement"

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	做		完	to finish doing
	看		见	to see
	买		到	to buy (successfully)
	计划		好	to plan (properly)
	说		清楚	to speak clearly
Potential complement	去		不了	cannot go
	去	得	了	can go
	听		不到	cannot hear
	看	得	见	can see
	听		不懂	to (listen but) not understand
	看	得	懂	to be able to read and understand
	吃	得	完	can finish eating
Direction complement	放		下	to put down
	走		上去	to walk up
	飞		回来	to fly back (here)
	看		过来	to look (over) this way
Degree complement	说	得	很好	to speak (very) well
	好*		极了	great
	累*		死了	tired "to death"
	脏*	得	不得了	terribly dirty
State complement	想	得	很简单	to think very simply
State complement	搞	得	很乱	to make a mess (of things)
Quantity complement	去		一次	to go once
Quantity complement	工作		十个小时	to work for 10 hours
Location complement	住		在北京	to live in Beijing
Location complement	来		到中国	to come to China
Time complement	等		到明年	to wait until next year
Time complement	生		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
Verb	Verb	Result complement	做完
		Potential complement	看得懂
		Direction complement	走回来
	Adjective	Result complement	做好
	Adjective	State complement	想得很简单
	Prepositional phrase	Location complement	住在北京
	Prepositional phrase	Time complement	生于69年
	Measure word phrases	Quantity complement	去一次
Adjective	Adjective	Degree complement	做完
	Adjective	Result complement	做好
	Adverb	Degree complement	好极了
	Adverb	Result complement	做好
	Other phrase	State complement	响得让人发疯

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	我听不懂。
Result complement "-wan" for finishing	Verb + 完 (+ 了)	我说完了。
Result complements "-dao" and "-jian"	Verb + 到 / 见	听到了吗？

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	天气热起来了。
Potential complement	Verb + 得 / 不 + Complement	做得完 / 做不完
Result complement "-xiaqu"	Verb + 下去	这个故事太无聊了，我听不下去了。
Result complements	Verb + 好 / 完 / 错	我们吃好了。

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，你应该把你的玩具收起来。
Complement "-huai le"	Verb + 坏了	坏了。
Complement "-zhao"	Verb + 着	宝宝刚睡着。
Tricky uses of "dao"	Verb + 到	他做到了吗？
Using "lai" and "qu" when "verbing around"	Verb + 来 + Verb + 去	他考虑来考虑去，最后还是决定回学校。

Sources and further reading

Books

A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法) (pp. 242 - 243, pp. 271 - 329) →buy
Chinese Grammar Without Tears (简明汉语语法学习手册) (Chapter 6: Complements) →buy
New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp. 200 - 201) →buy
New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2) (pp. 87 - 88) →buy
Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 97-9) →buy
Practicing HSK Grammar (语法精讲精炼) (pp, 186-187) →buy

Websites

Wikipedia: Complement (linguistics)
Pinyin.info: Verb-Complement Constructions
Baidu Baike (Chinese): 补语
Blog entry (Chinese): 状态补语

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

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Complements are a a special type of structure found in modern Mandarin which follow verbs (or sometimes adjectives) and provide additional information.  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>.  The Chinese word for complement is 补语 (bǔyǔ).
+{{AKA|补语 (bǔyǔ)|objective complement}}
-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!  But because 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!
+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)<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!
 == Summary of complement types ==
-Below you'll find all the major complement types, with representative examples of each.  Click through for a more detailed explanation and more examples.
+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:'''
-<table class="wikitable" style="width:50em">
+<table class="table table-bordered table-striped">
-<caption>Main Complement Types, with Examples</caption>
 <tr>
-<th>Type of Complement</th><th>Verb</th><th>Complement</th><th>English</th>
+<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" style="font-size:100%">[[Result complement]]</td><td>做</td><td>完</td><td style="font-size:100%">to finish doing</td>
+<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>看</td><td>见</td><td style="font-size:100%">to see</td>
+<td class="liju">看</td><td> </td><td class="liju">见</td><td style="font-size:100%">to see</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
-<td>买</td><td>到</td><td style="font-size:100%">to buy (successfully)</td>
+<td class="liju">买</td><td> </td><td class="liju">到</td><td style="font-size:100%">to buy (successfully)</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
-<td>计划</td><td>好</td><td style="font-size:100%">to plan (properly)</td>
+<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>说</td><td>清楚</td><td style="font-size:100%">to speak clearly</td>
+<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" style="font-size:100%">[[Potential complement]]</td><td>去</td><td>不了</td><td style="font-size:100%">cannot go</td>
+<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>去</td><td>得了</td><td style="font-size:100%">can go</td>
+<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>听</td><td>不到</td><td style="font-size:100%">cannot hear</td>
+<td class="liju">听</td><td> </td><td class="liju">不到</td><td style="font-size:100%">cannot hear</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
-<td>看</td><td>得见</td><td style="font-size:100%">can see</td>
+<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>听</td><td>不懂</td><td style="font-size:100%">to (listen but) not understand</td>
+<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>看</td><td>得懂</td><td style="font-size:100%">to be able to read and understand</td>
+<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>吃</td><td>得完</td><td style="font-size:100%">can finish eating</td>
+<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" style="font-size:100%">[[Direction complement]]</td><td>放</td><td>下</td><td style="font-size:100%">to put down</td>
+<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>走</td><td>上去</td><td style="font-size:100%">to walk up</td>
+<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>飞</td><td>回来</td><td style="font-size:100%">to fly back (here)</td>
+<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>看</td><td>过来</td><td style="font-size:100%">to look (over) this way</td>
+<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>
-<td rowspan="2" style="font-size:100%">[[Degree complement]]</td><td>说</td><td>得很好</td><td style="font-size:100%">to speak (very) well</td>
+<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>好*</td><td>极了</td><td style="font-size:100%">great</td>
+<td class="liju">好*</td><td> </td><td class="liju">极了</td><td style="font-size:100%">great</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
-<td rowspan="2" style="font-size:100%">[[State complement]]</td><td>想</td><td>很简单</td><td style="font-size:100%">to think very simply</td>
+<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>搞</td><td>得很乱</td><td style="font-size:100%">to make a mess (of things)</td>
+<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" style="font-size:100%">[[Quantity complement]]</td><td>去</td><td>一次</td><td style="font-size:100%">to go once</td>
+<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>工作</td><td>十个小时</td><td style="font-size:100%">to work for 10 hours</td>
+<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" style="font-size:100%">[[Location complement]]</td><td>住</td><td>在北京</td><td style="font-size:100%">to live in Beijing</td>
+<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>来</td><td>到中国</td><td style="font-size:100%">to come to China</td>
+<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" style="font-size:100%">[[Time complement]]</td><td>等</td><td>到明年</td><td style="font-size:100%">to wait until next year</td>
+<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>生</td><td>于69年</td><td style="font-size:100%">to be born in '69</td>
+<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, this one is an [[Adjectives|adjective]], not a verb!
+<nowiki />* OK, these are [[Adjectives|adjectives]], not verbs!
-== Result complement ==
+== Composition of complements ==
-[[Result 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.
-== Potential complement ==
+'''Structure of Complements:'''
-[[Potential 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>
-== Direction complement ==
+== When to use complements ==
-[[Direction 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.
-(Compound direction complements)
+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]].
-== Quantity complement ==
+== Grammar Points for Complements ==
+{{Structure Page|Complements}}
-[[Quantity complement]]
+== Sources and further reading ==
-== Degree complement ==
+=== Books ===
-[[Degree complement]]
+* [[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]
-== Location complement ==
+=== Websites ===
-[[Location complement]]
-== References ==
-<references/>
-== Sources and further reading ==
-* 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]]