Difference between revisions of "Result complement "-wan" for finishing"

Line 18: Line 18:
  
 
*我 说 <em>完</em> <strong>了</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ shuō <em>wán</em> <strong>le</strong>.</span><span class="trans">I am finished talking.</span>
 
*我 说 <em>完</em> <strong>了</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ shuō <em>wán</em> <strong>le</strong>.</span><span class="trans">I am finished talking.</span>
*你 吃 <em>完</em> <strong>了</strong> 吗 ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ chī <em>wán</em><strong>le</strong> ma?</span><span class="trans">Are you done eating?</span>
+
*你 吃 <em>完</em> <strong>了</strong> 吗 ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ chī <em>wán</em> <strong>le</strong> ma?</span><span class="trans">Are you done eating?</span>
 
*我 看 <em>完</em> 了 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ kàn <em>wán</em> <strong>le</strong>.</span><span class="trans">I want to finish watching it.</span>
 
*我 看 <em>完</em> 了 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ kàn <em>wán</em> <strong>le</strong>.</span><span class="trans">I want to finish watching it.</span>
 
*大家 都 写 <em>完</em> <strong>了</strong> 。 <span class="pinyin">Dàjiā dōu xiě <em>wán</em> <strong>le</strong>.</span><span class="trans">Everyone finished writing.</span>
 
*大家 都 写 <em>完</em> <strong>了</strong> 。 <span class="pinyin">Dàjiā dōu xiě <em>wán</em> <strong>le</strong>.</span><span class="trans">Everyone finished writing.</span>

Revision as of 10:05, 24 April 2018

On its own, 完 (wán) means "to finish" or "to complete." Using it in this grammar structure, it expresses the idea of doing some action to completion.

Structure

As well as with 到 (dào) and 见 (jiàn), you can also form result complements with 完 (wán). This indicates that an action is finished or completed.

Subj. + Verb + 完 + 了

Frequently, you'll also see a 了 (le) at the end, indicating completion.

Examples

  • 我 说 Wǒ shuō wán le.I am finished talking.
  • 你 吃 吗 ? Nǐ chī wán le ma?Are you done eating?
  • 我 看 了 。Wǒ kàn wán le.I want to finish watching it.
  • 大家 都 写 Dàjiā dōu xiě wán le.Everyone finished writing.
  • 你们 做 吗 ?Nǐmen zuò wánlema?Did you finish doing it?

Subj. + Verb + 完 + Obj. + 了


Examples

  • 我 做 作业 .
  • 老板 开 作业 .


  • 我 看 两本 书 。.

In English we say "I finished the movie," or "I finished supper," but in Chinese you should explicitly use the verb implied in English along with 完了 (wán le) to emphasize that you completed the action: "watch the movie (till the end)" or "eat (all my) supper."

  • 了 电影 。wán le diànyǐng.
  • 我看 了 电影 。To tell us that you watched it till the end.Wǒ kàn wán le diànyǐng.I finished watching the movie.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books