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.

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:

Adjective Phrases as State Complements
Subject (Verb) Object Verb Adverb Adjective Particle
(来) 校园
马先生
他们 玩儿 快乐
(写) 汉字

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 VP/SP/CP Explanation
校园

State Complements in Questions

References and Further Reading

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