Complement types: integrated review
Chinese complements are words after a verb that say more about it, and HSK 4 uses six kinds: result, potential, degree, directional, duration and frequency. Each one answers a different question about the verb, such as what came of it or how long it lasted.
| Type | Key marker | Question answered | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Result | V+好/完/到/住/清楚 | What resulted? | 做完 (finished doing) |
| Potential | V+得/不+C | Can/cannot? | 看不懂 (can't understand) |
| Directional | V+来/去/起来/下去 | Which direction? | 走出来 (walked out) |
| Degree | V+得+Adj | How well? | 说得很流利 |
| Duration | V+了+Time | How long? | 等了两小时 |
| Frequency | V+次/遍/趟 | How many times? | 读了三遍 |
This topic tests discrimination between complement types in context.
Worked examples
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| 他把那道菜做得非常好吃。 | Tā bǎ nà dào cài zuò de fēi cháng hǎo chī. | He made that dish extremely delicious. | Degree complement: V+得+Adj evaluates the quality of the action |
| 那本小说我看了整整三天才看完。 | Nà běn xiǎo shuō wǒ kàn le zhěng zhěng sān tiān cái kàn wán. | That novel took me a full three days to finish reading. | Duration (看了三天) + result (看完) in the same sentence — different complements |
| 这道题我做了好几遍，还是做不对。 | Zhè dào tí wǒ zuò le hǎo jǐ biàn, hái shì zuò bù duì. | I did this problem many times but still can't get it right. | Frequency (好几遍) + potential negative (做不对) — testing two complement types in contrast |
What you need first
Every topic in GraphChinese names its own prerequisites, and these are the grammar points this one is built on. If a sentence here will not parse, one of them is why.
- Resultative complements
- Potential complements
- Complex directionals
- Degree complement
- Duration complement
- Frequency complement
Questions about Complement types
What does 补语综合复习 (Complement types) mean in Chinese?
Chinese complements are words after a verb that say more about it, and HSK 4 uses six kinds: result, potential, degree, directional, duration and frequency. Each one answers a different question about the verb, such as what came of it or how long it lasted. It is an HSK 4 grammar point.
How do you use 补语综合复习 (Complement types) in a sentence?
他把那道菜做得非常好吃。 — Tā bǎ nà dào cài zuò de fēi cháng hǎo chī. — He made that dish extremely delicious. Degree complement: V+得+Adj evaluates the quality of the action.
What do you need to know before 补语综合复习 (Complement types)?
Resultative complements (HSK 4), Potential complements (HSK 4), Complex directionals (HSK 4), Degree complement (HSK 4), Duration complement (HSK 4), Frequency complement (HSK 4). This pattern is built out of them, so a sentence here that will not parse usually means one of them has not landed yet.
How do I tell the six complement types apart?
Ask what the part after the verb tells you. A result (做完) tells what came out, a potential (看不懂) tells if it can happen, a direction (走出来) tells where, a degree (说得好) tells how well, a duration (等了两小时) tells how long, and a frequency (读了三遍) tells how many times.
Which complements can take 得 and 不?
Result and directional complements can: 看得懂 and 走得出来. Degree complements already use 得 for another purpose, as in 说得很好。
Complement types is one topic of 829. GraphChinese teaches them in prerequisite order, so this pattern reaches you on the day everything it rests on is proven. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.
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