State complement

Also known as: 状态补语 (zhuàngtài bǔyǔ), 情态补语 (qíngtài bǔyǔ) 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.

Adjective Phrases as State Complements

In a state complement phrase, the verb must be followed by 得, and then the complement follows. The most common type of state complement, where the complement is an adjective phrase, is formed by placing the adjective phrase after 得.

Structure

Subject + Verb + 得 + Complement

Examples

  • 得 很 晚She came very late.
  • 孩子们 得 很 开心The kids are having lots of fun.
  • 我 昨天 得 不 太 好I didn't sleep very well yesterday.

If the verb taking a complement also has an object, you can repeat the verb: once for the object, then once for the complement:

  • 我 弟弟 作业 得 很 慢Wǒ dìdi zuò zuòyè zuò de hěn màn.My younger brother does his homework very slowly.
  • 东西 得 很 快He eats very fast.

Verb Phrases and other Complements as State Complements

Verb phrases (VP), subject-predicate phrases (SP) and other complements can also serve as complements of state. As with adjective phrase state complements, they can describe a state that arose from the action of the main verb in the sentence. Some examples:

  • 他们 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.
  • 爷爷 电视 睡着 了This room is filled to the point that you are unable to fit more stuff.
  • 激动大叫 起来The state complement in this example is used to describe the state of excitement the subject has arrived at.I was excited to point of screaming out.

State Complements in Questions

You can form questions with sentences containing result complements just as you would with any other sentence:

Some examples:

  • 大家 得 高兴 吗Is everyone having fun?
  • 哪个 城市 发展 得 最 好What place has developed nicely?
  • 衣服 得 干 不 干净Was the clothing washed well [clean]?

References and Further Reading

Books

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