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 look 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. State complement phrases can be quite complex, at times having entire complement phrases act as the state complement. It may be useful to think of more complex complement phrases as meaning "(verb) to the point of (complement)".

Different Kinds of State Complements

Adjective Phrase Complements of State

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:

Adjective Phrases as State Complements
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, Subject Predicate Phrases and Other Complement Phrases as Complements of State

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:

Verb Phrases, Subject Predicate Phrases and Other Complement Phrases as Complements of State
Subject	Verb	得	VP/SP/CP	Explanation
这件房间	满	得	放不下其他东西了	This example uses a potential complement phrase to express that state of the room: "This room is filled to the point that you are unable to fit more stuff."
他们	昌河唱	得	忘了时间	Here the state complement is a verb phrase and expresses the state to which the subject got caught up in their singing activities (probably at KTV) "They sang to the point where they lost track of time."
我的姐姐	吃饭吃	得	满嘴流油	This state complement is also a verb phrase and expresses the resulting state of the subject's eating: "My sister ate to the point that her mouth was flowing with oil."
太太	激动	得	热血沸腾	The state complement in this example is an idiomatic phrase that describes the state of anger the subject has arrived at: "The wife was agitated to point of burning rage."