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How to use verb-resultative complement compounds in Mandarin Chinese?

By: Lina Shen Fri Aug 30 2024
Mandarin chinese
Complements

A verb-resultative complement compound, or VRCC for short, is a fancy name for a very common two-character (or sometimes three-character) verb form in Mandarin Chinese. It is a verb character plus an additional character, which is either a verb or adjective character, which shows the result of the action expressed by the first verb.

In English, you may use different verbs to show a result (e.g. “to look” vs. “to see”), while a lot of verbs in Mandarin don’t indicate the result of the action. In this case, we need to have a VRCC to express the result of the verb. The simple way to do it is to add an additional character after the main verb. For example:

Verb
Verb with resultative
component

(kàn)

to look

看见

(kànjiàn)

to see

(zhǎo)

to look for

找到

(zhǎodào)

to find

(chī)

to eat

吃完

(chīwán)

to finish eating

()

to wash

洗干净

(xǐgānjìng)

to wash it clean

In the examples above, we have the basic verbs (kàn, to look), (zhǎo, to look for), (chī, to eat), and (, to wash), none of which indicates the result of the action. When the additional verbs (jiàn, too see) / (dào, to arrive) and the adjectives (wán, finished) / 干净 (gānjìng, clean) are added after the basic verbs, it forms a verb-resultative complement compound.

In this post, we will discuss how to form a VRCC and how you can use it as a pro. Let’s explore!

Table of Contents

    What are resultative complements in Mandarin Chinese?

    We have seen earlier that there are lots of verbs in Mandarin Chinese that don’t express results; therefore, an additional word, usually a verb or an adjective, must be placed after the verb to indicate this result. These additional verbs and adjectives are called resultative complements. The newly formed verb form is known as the verb-resultative complement compound (VRCC).

    Below, you will find the most common result complements in Mandarin:

    Resultative
    Complement
    Examples of verb-resultative complement
    compound (VRCC)

    (jiàn)

    to see

    (kànjiàn)

    to see

    (tīngjiàn)

    to hear

    (dào)

    to get / arrive

    (zhǎodào)

    to find

    (mǎidào)

    to buy and get it

    (zhù)

    to reside

    (jìzhù)

    to bear in mind

    (názhù)

    to hold tight

    (huì)

    able

    (xuéhuì)

    to master

    (kāi)

    to open

    (dǎkāi)

    to open up

    (qiēkāi)

    to cut it open

    (dǒng)

    understood

    (tīngdǒng)

    to listen and understand

    (kàndǒng)

    to look and understand

    (wán)

    finished

    (chīwán)

    to finish eating

    (zuòwán)

    to finish doing

    ()

    broken

    (gēpò)

    to cut open

    (kànpò)

    to see through

    (hǎo)

    good / done

    (xiěhǎo)

    to be done writing

    (fànghǎo)

    to put it well

    (cuò)

    wrong

    (shōucuò)

    to say it wrong

    (dúcuò)

    to read it wrong

    干净

    (gānjìng)

    clean

    干净

    (xǐ gānjìng)

    to wash it clean

    干净

    (sǎo gānjìng)

    to sweep it clean

    清楚

    (qīngchǔ)

    clear

    清楚

    (dú qīngchǔ)

    to read it clearly

    清楚

    (kàn qīngchǔ)

    to see clearly

    Let’s use the verb (, to cut) with a VRCC to convey the result of an action:

    他用镰刀割草。

    (Tā yòng liándāo gē cǎo.)

    He cut grass with a sickle.

    我的手指被刀割破了。

    (Wǒ de shǒuzhǐ bèi dāo gēpò le.)

    My finger was cut open by the knife.

    Did you notice any difference between these two sentences? Here is the answer:

    In the first sentence, we use the verb  () without VRCC to indicate the action (to cut grass).In the second sentence, we not only use the verb  (), but we also add a VRCC ( (, broken)) to indicate the result of being cut: your finger was cut and the skin was broken.

    How to use VRCC in positive patterns in Mandarin Chinese?

    In a VRCC sentence, we always add the aspectual particle  (le) after the resultative complements when there is no object in he sentence or at the end of the sentence when an object appears. Here  (le) indicates the completion of an action, which matches the purpose of a resultative complement. This is the VRCC pattern with and without an object:

    subject + verb + resultative complement +  (le)

    subject + verb + resultative complement + object +  (le)

    了吗?

    (Nǐ chīwán le ma?)

    Have you finished eating?

    大家都了。

    (Dàjiā dōu tīngdǒng le.)

    Did everyone get it?

    (lit.) Did everyone listen and understand?

    晚饭了吗?

    (Nǐ zuòhǎo wǎnfàn le ma?)

    Is dinner done cooking?

    作业了。

    (Tā xiěwán zuòyè le.)

    He finished writing homework.

    我们终于西瓜了。

    (Wǒmen zhōngyú mǎidào xīguā le.)

    We finally bought a watermelon.

    Important

    Please note that when an object is present, the object cannot be placed between the verb and the resultative complement. It has to be placed after the verb-resultative complement compound. For instance, “I see him” in Mandarin will need to use  (kànjiàn) as a verb-resultative complement compound; in this sentence the object (, him) is present, it has to be placed after the verb-resultative complement compound  (kànjiàn)

    我看见他了。
    Wǒ kànjiàn tā le.

    我看他见了。
    Wǒ kàn tā jiàn le.

    How to use VRCC in negative patterns in Mandarin Chinese?

    When it comes to a negative sentence with a VRCC, we will use the negation words  () or  (méi). Make sure to pay attention to the difference of using  () and  (méi) in the VRCC sentence. Keep reading to find out more!

    When to use the negation word 没 (méi)?

    When  (méi) is used in a VRCC sentence, it is placed before the verb to indicate the result has not happened yet. Please note that here no aspectual particle  (le) is needed because the action has not been completed. The pattern is like this:

    subject +  (méi) + verb + resultative complement + (object)

    今天我他。

    (Jīntiān wǒ méi kànjiàn tā.)

    I haven't seen him today.

    (“seeing him” has not happened yet)

    老师说的话。

    (Wǒ méi jìzhù lǎoshī de huà.)

    I didn’t memorize the teacher's words.

    (“memorizing the words” didn’t happen)

    你们王医生吗?

    (Nǐmen méi zhǎodào wáng yīsheng ma?)

    Didn’t you find Doctor Wang?

    (“finding the doctor” failed)

    When to use the negation word 不 (bù)?

    When  () is used in a VRCC sentence, it is placed between the verb and the resultative complement to indicate “to fail to do something.” What’s more, the aspectual particle  (le) is always present and, when there is an object, it is placed after the object. The pattern is like this:

    subject + verb +  () + resultative complement (+ object) +  (le)

    晚饭了。

    (Wǒ chī bù wán wǎnfàn le.)

    I can’t finish the dinner.

    你们电影票了吗?

    (Nǐmen mǎi bù dào diànyǐngpiào le ma?)

    Can’t you get movie tickets?

    • 你的手表呢?

      (Nǐ de shǒubiǎo ne?)

      Where is your watch?

    • 了。

      (Wǒ zhǎo bù dào le.)

      They can’t find (it).

    干净这条裤子了。

    (Wǒ xǐ bù gānjìng zhè tiáo kùzi le.)

    I can't wash this pair of pants clean.

    Please note that if the aspectual particle  (le) is left out in the sentences above, these sentences will be indicating a potential complement, which indicates whether an action is possible.

    How to use VRCC in a 把 (bǎ) structure in Mandarin Chinese?

    The  () sentence structure is used when you want to emphasize that a change has happened to the object of the sentence. When a VRCC is used in a  () structure, the pattern is like this:

    subject +  () + object + verb + resultative complement +  (le)

    这本书了。

    (Wǒ bǎ zhèběn shū kànwán le.)

    I finished reading this book.

    了。

    (Tā bǎ shǒu gēpò le.)

    He cut his hand.

    这个字了。

    (Nǐ bǎ zhège zì dúcuò le.)

    You read this word wrong.

    How to use VRCC in a 被 (bèi) structure in Mandarin Chinese?

    The  (bèi) structure is the passive voice in Mandarin Chinese, and a VRCC can also be used with this structure. Here is how it is formed:

    subject +  (bèi) + ( agent) + verb + resultative complement +  (le)

    瓶盖了。

    (Pínggài bèi wǒ dǎkāi le.)

    The bottle cap was opened up by me.

    我们说的话了。

    (Wǒmen shuōde huà bèi tā tīngjiàn le.)

    The words we said were heard by him.

    披萨饼了。

    (Pīsàbǐng bèi chīwán le.)

    The pizza was eaten up.

    To sum up

    Mandarin employs an interesting way to indicate the result of actions by adding a resultative complement, which is another verb or an adjective, after the verb. The compound is called verb-resultative complement compound (VRCC).

    In positive sentences, you need to add the particle  (le) to indicate the completion of the action.

    In negative sentences, you use the negative particles:

    •  () for present references. The aspectual particle  (le) is always present.

    •  (méi) for past references. The aspectual particle  (le) is not present.

    A VRCC can also be used in a  () structure and in a passive structure.

    Use these exercises to help you practice your knowledge of VRCC in Mandarin Chinese!

    Downloadable Resources

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