The most productive home of the potential complement is on top of a resultative complement. Every result morpheme you have already met — 完 "finish," 懂 "grasp," 到 "attain," 清楚 "clear," 见 "perceive," 住 "hold fast" — can flip into a can / can't form the instant you insert 得 or 不 between the verb and the result: 听懂 → 听得懂 / 听不懂, 做完 → 做得完 / 做不完, 找到 → 找得到 / 找不到. Nothing else changes. If you can build the resultative, you already own its potential.
Take a result, add the hinge
The reading is always "can / can't get the action to reach this outcome." 听懂 asks whether listening lands as comprehension; 听不懂 says it can't. 做完 asks whether doing reaches completion; 做不完 says it won't. Here is the core inventory, each result shown in both potential polarities:
| Result | Can (V得C) | Can't (V不C) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 懂 (grasp) | 听得懂 (tīng de dǒng) | 听不懂 (tīng bu dǒng) | can / can't understand |
| 完 (finish) | 做得完 (zuò de wán) | 做不完 (zuò bu wán) | can / can't finish |
| 到 (attain) | 找得到 (zhǎo de dào) | 找不到 (zhǎo bu dào) | can / can't find |
| 清楚 (clear) | 看得清楚 (kàn de qīngchu) | 看不清楚 (kàn bu qīngchu) | can / can't see clearly |
| 见 (perceive) | 看得见 (kàn de jiàn) | 看不见 (kàn bu jiàn) | can / can't see |
| 住 (hold fast) | 记得住 (jì de zhù) | 记不住 (jì bu zhù) | can / can't remember |
| 对 (correct) | 做得对 (zuò de duì) | 做不对 (zuò bu duì) | can / can't get right |
| 动 (budge) | 搬得动 (bān de dòng) | 搬不动 (bān bu dòng) | can / can't move |
Note 动 in the last row: paired with a verb it typically asks whether you have the strength to move something, and that capability sense lives overwhelmingly in the potential — 搬得动 / 搬不动 "(can't) budge it," 拿得动, 走得动. Several complements lean this way, far more common inside the potential frame than as a plain realized result.
太吵了，我听不清楚你说什么。
tài chǎo le, wǒ tīng bu qīngchu nǐ shuō shénme
It's too noisy — I can't hear what you're saying clearly. (informal)
这么多菜，我们吃得完吗？
zhème duō cài, wǒmen chī de wán ma?
Can we finish this much food? (informal) — affirmative in a question.
我的钥匙找不到了。
wǒ de yàoshi zhǎo bu dào le
I can't find my keys. (informal) — sentence-final 了 sits OUTSIDE the potential.
生词太多，我一个晚上记不住。
shēngcí tài duō, wǒ yí ge wǎnshang jì bu zhù
Too many new words — I can't memorize them in one evening. (neutral)
这道题我怎么也做不对。
zhè dào tí wǒ zěnme yě zuò bu duì
I just can't get this problem right, no matter what. (informal)
箱子太重，我一个人搬不动。
xiāngzi tài zhòng, wǒ yí ge rén bān bu dòng
The box is too heavy — I can't move it by myself. (informal) — 动 lives only in the potential.
The 得 trap: potential vs degree
Mandarin has a second 得 — the degree/manner marker — and the two can look identical in the affirmative. 做得完 is the potential "can finish"; 做得好 is the degree "does it well." How do you know which 得 you are looking at? The negative test disambiguates instantly, because the two negate in different places:
- Potential negates by swapping 得 → 不: 做得完 → 做不完.
- Degree keeps 得 and negates after it: 做得好 → 做得不好.
他一个小时就做得完这些练习。
tā yí ge xiǎoshí jiù zuò de wán zhèxiē liànxí
He can finish these exercises in just one hour. (neutral) — potential; negates to 做不完.
他这些练习做得很好。
tā zhèxiē liànxí zuò de hěn hǎo
He does these exercises very well. (neutral) — degree; negates to 做得不好.
When the affirmative is natural
Because the affirmative V得C is otherwise rare, it helps to know where it is idiomatic. Beyond the question forms already shown, the affirmative shines when you assert an ability against a doubt — someone worries the result is out of reach and you reassure them it isn't. The result stays in focus, so 得 sounds motivated rather than stiff.
别担心，这些字我看得清楚。
bié dānxīn, zhèxiē zì wǒ kàn de qīngchu
Don't worry — I can see these characters clearly. (informal) — affirmative reassuring against a doubt.
放心，那么多行李我拿得动。
fàngxīn, nàme duō xíngli wǒ ná de dòng
Relax — I can carry that much luggage. (informal)
Common Mistakes
1. Negating a potential like a degree complement. The potential flips 得 to 不; it does not tuck 不 in after 得.
❌ 这些菜我吃得不完。
Incorrect — a potential negates as 吃不完, not 吃得不完.
✅ 这些菜我吃不完。
zhèxiē cài wǒ chī bu wán
I can't finish these dishes.
2. Adding 很 (or any intensifier) to a potential. Only degree complements take 很.
❌ 这本书我看得很懂。
Incorrect — a potential can't take 很; drop it or use 看得懂.
✅ 这本书我看得懂。
zhè běn shū wǒ kàn de dǒng
I can understand this book.
3. Splitting the object into the middle. The object follows the whole verb-得/不-result block.
❌ 我听中文不懂。
Incorrect — the object can't break up 听…懂.
✅ 我听不懂中文。
wǒ tīng bu dǒng Zhōngwén
I can't understand Chinese. — object after the block.
4. Using 没 when you mean a standing inability. 没找到 = "didn't find (this time)"; 找不到 = "can't find (it's not findable)."
❌ 手机丢了，我到处都没找到。
Wrong nuance if you mean it's unfindable — this only reports one failed search.
✅ 手机丢了，我到处都找不到。
shǒujī diū le, wǒ dàochù dōu zhǎo bu dào
I lost my phone and can't find it anywhere. — 找不到 for the standing inability.
Key Takeaways
- Any resultative complement becomes a potential by inserting 得 (can) or 不 (can't): 听得懂 / 听不懂, 做得完 / 做不完, 找得到 / 找不到.
- A few complements, notably 动 (budge), live only in the potential frame: 搬得动 / 搬不动.
- Two 得 look alike; the negative test separates them. Potential → V不C (做不完); degree → V得不C (做得不好).
- A potential rejects 很; a degree complement welcomes it (做得很好).
- The object follows the whole block, and a sentence-final 了 stays outside (找不到了).
Now practice Chinese
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Chinese→Related Topics
- Potential Complements 可能补语HSK 3 — The potential complement bakes 'can / can't' into the verb–result unit by slipping 得 (de, able) or 不 (bu, unable) into the seam: 看得懂 'can understand' vs 看不懂 'can't understand', 吃得完 vs 吃不完 — inherent possibility, and the negative form does almost all the work.
- Resultative Complements 结果补语HSK 2 — A resultative complement 结果补语 welds a second verb or adjective onto the main verb to name the result it achieves — 吃完 (eat up), 听懂 (understand), 看见 (see), 洗干净 (wash clean) — negated with 没, never 不.
- Choosing Among the 得 ComplementsHSK 4 — Two different complements both attach with 得 (de): the degree/manner one (说得好 'speaks well', negated inside — 说得不好) and the potential one (听得懂 'can understand', negated by swapping 得→不 — 听不懂). The negation test tells them apart every time — and don't confuse either with the homophones 的 and 地.
- Potential + Directional: 上得去 / 上不去HSK 4 — The insert-得/不 trick also works on directional complements: 上得去 / 上不去 'can / can't go up', 出得来 / 出不来 'can / can't get out', 拿得回来 / 拿不回来 'can / can't bring back' — expressing whether the movement is achievable, with 得/不 sitting right after the verb.