<p>I guess you misunderstood what Yang Muye wanted to say (and I'm sure she/he could have said it better).</p>
<p>Yang Muye said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>But in most cases, resultative complements are the same as potential complements. The main difference is that you put 得 or 不 between the verb and the complement.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>What Yang Muye is not saying</strong></p>
<p>She/He is not saying that resultative complements equal to potential complements. They are <strong>different</strong> complements with <strong>different</strong> meaning. A resultative complement is <strong>never</strong> a potential complement, and viceversa.</p>
<p><strong>What Yang Muye wanted to say</strong></p>
<p>She/He wanted to say that the <strong>structures</strong> of resultative complements and potential complements are almost the same. To form the potential complement you just need to put 得 or 不 between the verb and the result of the resultative complement.</p>

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2022-03-08T17:23:44.263Z
2022-03-08T18:13:12.300Z
2022-03-08T18:13:12.300Z
Joe at wearyourchinesename.com
<p>There are only two potential complements: 得(able) and 不(unable)</p>
<p>It is always placed between a verb and its resultative complement</p>
<p>Example:</p>
<p>看(v) + 到 (resultative complement) = see (succefully)</p>
<p>看(v) + 得 (potential complement) + 到 (resultative complement) =  able to see</p>
<p>看(v) + 不 (potential complement) + 到 (resultative complement) =  unable to see</p>
<p>There can be many different resultative complements for a verb, but there are only two choices of potential complements</p>
<p>Example:</p>
<p>吃下(eat down)三個面包</p>
<p>吃掉(eat away)三個面包</p>
<p>吃完(eat and finish)三個面包</p>
<p>下，掉 and 完 are all resultative complements of 吃</p>
<p>With potential complements:</p>
<p>吃(得/不)下三個面包 = (Able/unable to) eat down three bread</p>
<p>吃(得/不)掉三個面包  = (Able/unable to) eat away three bread</p>
<p>吃(得/不)完三個面包  = (Able/unable to) eat and finish three bread</p>
<p>吃[得下]，吃[得掉]，吃[得完]， 吃[不下]，吃[不掉] and 吃[不完] are Verb + [potential complement] + [resultative complement]</p>

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2022-03-08T05:24:50.103Z
2022-03-08T16:05:48.917Z
2022-03-08T16:05:48.917Z
Tang Ho
<p>The answer was in line with the explanation provided <a href="http://www.ctcfl.ox.ac.uk/Grammar%20exercises/PVC.htm#:%7E:text=What%20are%20potential%20complements%3F%20Potential%20complements%20are%20used,ability%20to%20move%20something%20in%20a%20certain%20direction." rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>, which says: &quot;Potential complements are used to express two types of ability: the ability to achieve an action; and the ability to move something in a certain direction. Most resultative (<strong>apart from 错</strong>) and directional verb complements can be turned into potential verb complements by putting 得 (affirmative) or 不 (negative) between the verb and its complement.&quot;</p>
<p>Other than &quot;错&quot;, I think &quot;<strong>在</strong>&quot; is also fitting your interest. <a href="http://www.ctcfl.ox.ac.uk/Grammar%20exercises/RVC.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.ctcfl.ox.ac.uk/Grammar%20exercises/RVC.htm</a></p>

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2022-03-08T12:48:51.097Z
2022-03-08T13:10:23.407Z
2022-03-08T13:10:23.407Z
r13
<p>In the answer to <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/8323/finding-the-second-character">this</a> question, a user who is now inactive says: in most cases, resultative complements are the same as potential complements. The main difference is that you put 得 or 不 between the verb and the complement. This trick can help you eliminate many false positives.</p>
<p>I'm at a loss to find a resultative complement that doesn't pass their test for also being a potential complement. 看得见，烧得开，看不清楚，跑不出来...etc...</p>
<p>Is there really a practical difference between resultative complements and potential complements?</p>

<grammar><linguistics>
Is there a practical difference between resultative complements and potential complements?
# Is there a practical difference between resultative complements and potential complements?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-03-08)

In the answer to [this](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/8323/finding-the-second-character) question, a user who is now inactive says: in most cases, resultative complements are the same as potential complements. The main difference is that you put 得 or 不 between the verb and the complement. This trick can help you eliminate many false positives.

I'm at a loss to find a resultative complement that doesn't pass their test for also being a potential complement. 看得见，烧得开，看不清楚，跑不出来...etc...

Is there really a practical difference between resultative complements and potential complements?

**Tags:** grammar, linguistics


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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-03-08. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

I guess you misunderstood what Yang Muye wanted to say (and I'm sure she/he could have said it better).

Yang Muye said:

> But in most cases, resultative complements are the same as potential complements. The main difference is that you put 得 or 不 between the verb and the complement.

**What Yang Muye is not saying**

She/He is not saying that resultative complements equal to potential complements. They are **different** complements with **different** meaning. A resultative complement is **never** a potential complement, and viceversa.

**What Yang Muye wanted to say**

She/He wanted to say that the **structures** of resultative complements and potential complements are almost the same. To form the potential complement you just need to put 得 or 不 between the verb and the result of the resultative complement.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2022-03-08. Score: 1

There are only two potential complements: 得(able) and 不(unable)

It is always placed between a verb and its resultative complement

Example:

看(v) + 到 (resultative complement) = see (succefully)

看(v) + 得 (potential complement) + 到 (resultative complement) = able to see

看(v) + 不 (potential complement) + 到 (resultative complement) = unable to see

There can be many different resultative complements for a verb, but there are only two choices of potential complements

Example:

吃下(eat down)三個面包

吃掉(eat away)三個面包

吃完(eat and finish)三個面包

下，掉 and 完 are all resultative complements of 吃

With potential complements:

吃(得/不)下三個面包 = (Able/unable to) eat down three bread

吃(得/不)掉三個面包 = (Able/unable to) eat away three bread

吃(得/不)完三個面包 = (Able/unable to) eat and finish three bread

吃[得下]，吃[得掉]，吃[得完]， 吃[不下]，吃[不掉] and 吃[不完] are Verb + [potential complement] + [resultative complement]


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### Answer by username_3 on 2022-03-08. Score: 1

The answer was in line with the explanation provided [here](http://www.ctcfl.ox.ac.uk/Grammar%20exercises/PVC.htm#:%7E:text=What%20are%20potential%20complements%3F%20Potential%20complements%20are%20used,ability%20to%20move%20something%20in%20a%20certain%20direction.), which says: "Potential complements are used to express two types of ability: the ability to achieve an action; and the ability to move something in a certain direction. Most resultative (**apart from 错**) and directional verb complements can be turned into potential verb complements by putting 得 (affirmative) or 不 (negative) between the verb and its complement."

Other than "错", I think "**在**" is also fitting your interest. <http://www.ctcfl.ox.ac.uk/Grammar%20exercises/RVC.htm>


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