State complement
- Also known as: 状态补语 (kuàngtàibǔyǔ) and complement of state.
State complements describe an achieved state of an action. State complements are usually adjective phrases (adverb + adjective) but can take the form of verbal phrases, subject-predicate phrase or other complements. State complements that are adjective phrases often appear the same as degree complements and thus often lumped together with degree complements in textbooks but some state complements are a very distinct form of complement.
Contents
Different Kinds of State Complements
In a state complement phrase the verb must be followed by 得 then the complement follows. The most common type of state complement of state, where the complement is an adjective phrase, is formed by placing the adjective phrase after 得. If the verb taking a complement also has an object the should occur after the object and before 得. The sentence is negated by putting 不 in place of the adverb (not before the verb) Some examples:
| Subject | (Verb) | Object | Verb | 得 | Adverb | Adjective | Particle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 她 | (来) | 校园 | 来 | 得 | 很 | 晚 | 了 |
| 马先生 | 住 | 得 | 不 | 好 | |||
| 他们 | 玩儿 | 得 | 很 | 快乐 | |||
| 我 | (写) | 汉字 | 写 | 得 | 很 | 慢 |
Verb phrases (VP), subject predicate phrases (SP) and other complements (CP) can also serve as complements of state. As with adjective phrase state complements they can describe a state that arose as a result of the main verb in the sentence. Some examples:
| Subject | Verb | 得 | VP/SP/CP | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 她 | 校园 | 来 | 得 |
State Complements in Questions
References and Further Reading
Books
- New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2) Lesson 15 (needs affiliate link)
- New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) Lesson 30 (needs affiliate link)
Websites
- About Chinese Language, XCN Chinese The Complement of State
