Chinese Multimedia

Grammar Notes for lesson 19

Complement of degree construction

A complement of degree construction is used to describe how an action is habitually carried out, as in 他 吃 得 很 快 tā chī de hěn kuài he eats very fast. The verb is placed before 得 de, while the elements which follow 得 de are usually adverbs describing the outcome of the action.

This construction can also be used to describe a particular action. For example, in  昨 天 晚 上 我 作 饭 作 得 很 好 zuótiān wǎnshang wǒ zuò fàn zuò de hěn hǎo last night I cooked the meal very well, 很 好 hěn hǎo describes the outcome of the cooking. (See lessons 8)