HSK 2Lesson 9 of 13 · 8 grammar points
Outcomes, direction and duration
A complement may say what result was reached, where movement went, how well an action was performed, or how long it lasted. Identify its meaning before translating. A completed activity does not necessarily entail a successful result.
Learning goals (8)
- Result complements.
- Movement relative to a viewpoint.
- Simple direction complements.
- Compound direction complements.
- Manner complements with 得.
- Duration after a verb.
- Difference amounts.
- Subject–predicate predicates.
动词+错/懂/好/会/完
Result complements
错、懂、好、会、完 after a verb specify an outcome: getting it wrong, understanding, completing properly, learning a skill or finishing.
我做完作业了。
I have finished my homework.
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写错 write incorrectly; 听懂 understand what one hears; 做好 complete properly; 学会 learn how; 看完 finish reading/watching. Negating a particular attained result often uses 没: 没听懂. Potential inability uses 听不懂 at a later lesson.
Pitfall: Doing an action does not guarantee its result: 听了 need not mean 听懂了.
来
Movement relative to a viewpoint
来 points toward the reference point, 去 away from it; after another verb they indicate its directional outcome.
请拿来。
Please bring it here.
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Pitfall: Choose 来 or 去 from the relevant viewpoint, not mechanically from English go.
动词+上/下/进/出/过/回
Simple direction complements
上、下、进、出、过、回 after a movement verb identify a path or destination change.
他走进教室了。
He walked into the classroom.
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走上楼 go upstairs; 走下楼 go downstairs; 走进教室 enter; 走出教室 exit; 走过桥 cross a bridge; 走回家 return home on foot. The directional complement follows the action and precedes an appropriate destination/path object.
Pitfall: 进 describes entry, not the activity's duration.
进教室来
Compound direction complements
Combine a path with 来 or 去: 进来、出去、回来. A place object commonly appears between the path and 来/去.
他走进教室来了。
He walked into the classroom toward us.
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出来/出去: out toward/away from the viewpoint; 过来/过去: over toward/away; 回来/回去: back toward/away; 进来/进去: in toward/away; 上来/上去: up toward/away; 下来/下去: down toward/away; 起来: rise/get up, with other extended uses taught separately.
Pitfall: Do not put a place object after 来/去 mechanically.
得
Manner complements with 得
Verb+得+description evaluates how an action is performed. With an object, repeat the verb or move the object into a suitable topic position.
她汉语说得很好。
She speaks Chinese very well.
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Pitfall: 说很好 lacks the normal complement marker for this intended structure.
表示动作持续的时间
Duration after a verb
A time complement tells how long an action lasts. Object placement may require verb repetition or a construction suited to the noun.
我看书看了一个小时。
I read for an hour.
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Compare 我学了一年汉语 (one year of study) with 我一点学汉语 (study at one o'clock). With an object and complex duration, verb repetition can help: 我看书看了一个小时. Not every verb supports the same duration pattern; punctually completed events can instead yield an elapsed-since reading.
Pitfall: A duration is not a clock time such as 一点.
两岁
Difference amounts
After a comparative adjective, a quantity can specify the size of the difference.
他比我大两岁。
He is two years older than me.
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Pitfall: 两岁 measures the difference, not his total age.
身体很好
Subject–predicate predicates
A larger topic can be followed by a smaller subject and its predicate, describing one aspect of that topic.
他身体很好。
He is in good health.
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Pitfall: 他 is the overall topic; 身体 is what 很好 directly describes.
Source details (official syllabus)
Result complements
- Syllabus item
- 动词+错/懂/好/会/完
- Category
- 结果补语1
- Grammar ID
- grammar-L2-048
- PDF page
- 390 (printed 387)
Movement relative to a viewpoint
- Syllabus item
- 简单趋向补语的趋向意义用法：（1）动词+来/去
- Category
- 趋向补语1
- Grammar ID
- grammar-L2-049
- PDF page
- 390 (printed 387)
Simple direction complements
- Syllabus item
- （2）动词+上/下/进/出/过/回
- Category
- 趋向补语1
- Grammar ID
- grammar-L2-050
- PDF page
- 390 (printed 387)
Compound direction complements
- Syllabus item
- 复合趋向补语的趋向意义用法：动词+出来/出去/过来/过去/回来/回去/进来/进去/起来/上来/上去/下来/下去
- Category
- 趋向补语1
- Grammar ID
- grammar-L2-051
- PDF page
- 390 (printed 387)
Manner complements with 得
- Syllabus item
- 动词+得+形容词性短语
- Category
- 状态补语1
- Grammar ID
- grammar-L2-052
- PDF page
- 390 (printed 387)
Duration after a verb
- Syllabus item
- （1）表示动作持续的时间
- Category
- 数量补语2
- Grammar ID
- grammar-L2-053
- PDF page
- 390 (printed 387)
Difference amounts
- Syllabus item
- （2）形容词+数量补语
- Category
- 数量补语2
- Grammar ID
- grammar-L2-054
- PDF page
- 390 (printed 387)
Subject–predicate predicates
- Syllabus item
- 主谓句4：主谓谓语句
- Category
- 单句
- Grammar ID
- grammar-L2-055
- PDF page
- 390 (printed 387)
- 1FILL BLANK
我做作业了。
Choose the expression that completes the sentence.
“I have finished my homework.”
- 2FILL BLANK
他。
Choose the expression that completes the sentence.
“He is in good health.”
- 3MATCH
Tap a sentence, then tap its meaning.
Tap a sentence, then tap its meaning.
- 4CHOOSE
Which explicitly says the listener understood?
- 5CHOOSE
我看完这本书了。
Which part explicitly expresses completion?
- 6ORDER
Tap the chunks to build the sentence.
“I have finished my homework.”
Tap the chunks in order. - 7ORDER
Tap the chunks to build the sentence.
“He walked into the classroom.”
Tap the chunks in order.
0 of 7 tasks answered.
Next lesson: Choice, commands and presented states →动词+错/懂/好/会/完Result complements
- 我们等爸爸工作完，一起回家。 Visiting Dad at His Office · HSK 2
- 我写错了一个字，爸爸说没关系，让我再写一次。 Doing Homework with Dad · HSK 2
- 今天下午，我上完课，去了学校的图书馆。 The School Library · HSK 2
动词+上/下/进/出/过/回Simple direction complements
- 我们走过操场，也去了办公室。 A New Classmate Looks for the Classroom · HSK 2
- 我马上走进街道旁边的一家小商店，那里卖衣服。 When It Turns Cold, I Go to Buy a Jacket · HSK 3
- 我拿出伞，走进火车站里，后来找不到它了。 Looking for an Umbrella at the Train Station · HSK 3
进教室来Compound direction complements
- 爸爸看见了，走过来把水龙头关了。 A Leaking Tap at Home · HSK 3
- 爸爸和我一起搬桌子，妈妈把床和衣服拿上去。 A New Room on the Third Floor · HSK 3
- 老师说“开始”，我马上跑出去。 Sports Meet at Our School · HSK 3
得Manner complements with 得
- 后来我打得好一点儿了，也有几次能跟哥哥打很长时间。 Learning to Play Table Tennis with My Older Brother · HSK 3
- 晚上，我们吃得很高兴。 Cooking Dinner · HSK 2
- 最后，我们买了花，服务员把花包得很漂亮。 Choosing a Gift · HSK 3