Potential Complements 1

Grammar Point:
Potential Complements indicate whether or not an action is possible, which means whether it is able to be done or not. It’s not that complicated, is it? The structure is also simple – just add 得 de or 不 bu between the result complement and the verb.

Result complement VS Potential complement:

The Result complement indicates the result or outcome of an action. It usually appears after the verb and provides information about the degree, extent, or condition of the action. The Potential complement, on the other hand, indicates whether an action is possible or not. It provides information about the ability or capacity to perform an action. Let me give you an example:

Result Complement (Fact)

Postive

門mén打dǎ開kāi了le门mén打dǎ开kāi了le
The door is open.

In this sentence, “打開开了 dǎ kāi le” is a Result complement indicating the result or outcome of the action. It confirms the fact that the door is open.

Negative

門mén沒méi打dǎ開kāi门mén没méi打dǎ开kāi
The door is not open.

In this sentence, “沒打開开 méi dǎ kāi” is a Result complement indicating the negative result or outcome of the action. It confirms the fact that the door is not open.

Potential Complement (Possibility)

Postive

門mén打dǎ得de開kāi门mén打dǎ得de开kāi
The door can be opened.

In the sentence, ‘打得開开 dǎ de kāi’ is a Potential complement indicating the ability or possibility to perform the action of opening the door, regardless of whether the door is actually open or not.

Negative

門mén打dǎ不bù開kāi门mén打dǎ不bu开kāi
The door cannot be opened.

In this sentence, “打不開开 dǎ bùbu kāi” is a Potential complement indicating the inability or incapacity to perform the action, regardless of the actual status of the door, the person is unable to open it.

The structure just like this:

Structure

Able to: V + 得 + RC

Objects in sentences with potential complements can occur either after the complement or at the beginning of the sentence.

A：你nǐ看kàn得de到dào我wǒ嗎ma？ 你nǐ看kàn得de到dào我wǒ吗ma？
Can you see me?

B：我wǒ看kàn得de到dào我wǒ看kàn得de到dào
I can see you.

台灣人Táiwānrén說shuō的de話huà你nǐ聽得懂tīngdedǒng嗎ma？ 台湾人Táiwānrén说shuō的de话huà你nǐ听得懂tīngdedǒng吗ma？
Do you understand what the Taiwanese say?

別bié擔心dānxīn， 這zhè衣服yīfú洗xǐ得de乾淨gānjìng别bié担心dànxīn， 这zhè衣服yīfu洗xǐ得de干净gānjìng
Don’t worry, the clothes can be cleaned.

你nǐ點diǎn這麼zhème多duō菜cài， 吃得完chīdewán嗎ma？ 你nǐ点diǎn这么zhème多duō菜cài， 吃得完chīdewán吗ma？
You order so many dishes. Can you finish them all?

你nǐ點diǎn這麼zhème少shǎo菜cài， 吃得飽chīdebǎo嗎ma？ 你nǐ点diǎn这么zhème少shǎo菜cài， 吃得饱chīdebǎo吗ma？
Will you be full after ordering so few dishes?

Not able to: V + 不 + RC

A：你nǐ看得到kàndedào我wǒ嗎ma？ 你nǐ看得到kàndedào我wǒ吗ma？
Can you see me?

B：我wǒ看不到kànbúdào我wǒ看不到kànbudào
I can’t see you.

我wǒ病了bìngle， 明天míngtiān上不了shàngbùliǎo課kè我wǒ病了bìngle， 明天míngtiān上不了shàngbuliǎo课kè
I’m sick. I can’t go to class tomorrow.

太tài吵chǎo了le！ 我wǒ聽tīng不bù清楚qīngchǔ太tài吵chǎo了le！ 我wǒ听tīng不bu清楚qīngchu
It’s too loud! I can’t hear clearly.

功課gōngkè太tài多duō， 我wǒ真的zhēnde做不完zuòbùwán功课gōngkè太tài多duō， 我wǒ真的zhēnde做不完zuòbuwán
I have too much homework, I really can’t finish it.

我wǒ抓不到zhuābúdào冰箱bīngxiāng上面shàngmiàn的de貓māo我wǒ抓不到zhuābudào冰箱bīngxiāng上面shàngmian的de猫māo
I can’t reach the cat on top of the fridge.

Can I just use 能 néng or 可以 kěyǐ instead of the Potential complement？

The answer is yes and no. If you say this, we can understand you. However, the Chinese words 能 néng and 可以 kěyǐ have multiple functions. Using the potential complement can help avoid the possibility of misunderstanding. For example, “我不能看到 Wǒ bù néng kàn dào” can be interpreted as either picture A or picture B.

• Potential Complements 2 (HSK 5)