HSK 3 grammar · complement
可能补语
可能补语 — potential complements
Pattern
+ +
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
Inserting 得 or 不 between a verb and its result/direction complement says whether the outcome is achievable: 听得懂 (can understand) vs 听不懂 (can't understand). This form focuses on capability or possibility, unlike 能, and the negative 不 version is by far the most common in speech.
Examples
这本书我看得懂。
Zhè běn shū wǒ kàn de dǒng.
I can understand this book (by reading).
太远了，我看不见。
Tài yuǎn le, wǒ kàn bú jiàn.
It's too far, I can't see it.
Related
See it in a story
In the app, 可能补语 is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.