Home / Courses / Mandarin Chinese 2 / Unit 3

Mandarin Chinese 2 Unit 3: Complements of Degree with 得

A complement of degree uses 得 to describe how well, how fast or to what extent an action is done, as in 他说得很快. It is the standard way to comment on skills and habits.

Covers: Verb + 得 + adjective, Repeating the verb with an object, Negating degree complements, Questions with 得怎么样, Intensifiers: 得很, 极了, 死了, 的, 地 and 得 compared

Study guide

In English, adverbs like "quickly" or "well" describe actions. In Chinese, a common way to evaluate an action is to put 得 after the verb and then an adjective phrase: 他跑得很快 (He runs fast), 你说得很好 (You speak well). The adjective usually needs a degree word such as 很, 非常, 太, 真 or 不太, just as adjectives do as predicates. This structure evaluates an action that is habitual or already done; it does not describe a single future action. 我明天跑得很快 is wrong; for the future you would say 我明天要跑快一点儿.

When the verb has an object, the object cannot come between 得 and the adjective, and it cannot follow 得. There are two solutions. You can repeat the verb: 他说中文说得很流利 (He speaks Chinese fluently). Or you can drop the first verb and put the object first: 他中文说得很流利, or as a topic, 中文他说得很流利. A sentence like 他说中文得很流利 or 他说得中文很流利 is wrong. Many common verbs are verb-object compounds, such as 唱歌, 跳舞, 写字, 做饭 and 游泳, so the same rule applies: 她唱歌唱得很好听 or 她歌唱得很好听.

To negate, put 不 inside the complement, after 得: 他跑得不快 (He doesn't run fast), 我写得不太好 (I don't write very well). Putting 不 before the verb, as in 他不跑得快, is a common mistake. To ask, use 怎么样 after 得: 他游泳游得怎么样? (How well does he swim?) You can also use the affirmative-negative form of the adjective: 他跑得快不快? or add 吗: 他跑得快吗? Answer by repeating the verb + 得 + adjective phrase: 他游得非常好.

得 can also follow adjectives to show high degree. Adjective + 得很 means "very": 今天热得很. Adjective + 极了 means "extremely" and needs no 得: 好极了, 累极了. In casual speech, adjective + 死了 means "to death," for strong feelings: 饿死了, 累死了. Finally, learn the three particles pronounced de. 的 links a modifier to a noun (我的书, 漂亮的衣服). 地 links an adverbial to a verb (他慢慢地走). 得 links a verb or adjective to its complement (他走得很慢). The three are written differently but sound the same, so tests often check whether you can choose the right one.

Key ideas

• Verb + 得 + (degree word) + adjective describes how an action is done.
• With an object, repeat the verb or put the object first; never place the object after 得.
• Negate inside the complement: Verb + 得 + 不 + adjective.
• Ask with Verb + 得 + 怎么样? or Verb + 得 + Adj不Adj?
• Degree complements describe habits or completed actions, not single future plans.
• Adjective + 得很, 极了 and 死了 intensify adjectives.
• 的 goes before nouns, 地 before verbs, 得 after verbs or adjectives.

Formulas and rules

Common mistakes

• Putting the object after the verb and before 得, as in 他说中文得很好.
• Negating with 不 before the verb instead of after 得 (他不说得好).
• Writing 的 or 地 instead of 得 after a verb.
• Using a degree complement for a single future action (我明天唱得很好).
• Writing 好得极了 instead of 好极了.

Before the test, make sure you can

• Build degree complements with and without objects.
• Choose between repeating the verb and moving the object forward.
• Negate a degree complement by putting 不 after 得.
• Ask how well someone does something with 得怎么样.
• Use 得很, 极了 and 死了 with adjectives.
• Choose correctly among 的, 地 and 得 in a sentence.
• Identify sentences that wrongly use 得 for a single future action.

Words to know

流利

fluent (liúlì)

不错

pretty good (búcuò)

认真

serious, conscientious (rènzhēn)

清楚

clear (qīngchu)

好听

pleasant to hear (hǎotīng)

漂亮

beautiful, pretty (piàoliang)

快

fast (kuài)

慢

slow (màn)

早

early (zǎo)

晚

late (wǎn)

多

much, many (duō)

少

few, little (shǎo)

唱歌

to sing (chàng gē)

跳舞

to dance (tiào wǔ)

游泳

to swim (yóuyǒng)

开车

to drive (kāi chē)

写字

to write characters (xiě zì)

做饭

to cook (zuò fàn)

非常

extremely (fēicháng)

极了

extremely (after adjectives) (jí le)

真

really (zhēn)

有点儿

a bit (yǒudiǎnr)

Sample practice questions

30 more questions like these, from level 1 to 5, are in the practice set.