PMW Translation #32: Potential Complements (Part 2)
🌀 Pearls of Mandarin Worksheet: Translation #32
Hello Mandarin Enthusiasts! 🌟
In this week’s CGG #33 lesson, we delved into the use of potential complements in Mandarin.
Today, we’ll put this concept into practice with five translation exercises. These exercises will help you become more comfortable using potential complements in your daily Mandarin conversations.
We’ll also explore the subtle differences between various potential complements, and between potential and result complements, ensuring you can use them accurately and with confidence.
Let’s dive in and strengthen your Mandarin skills with these essential structures!
Recap of CGG #33 lesson
Purpose: Potential complements express possibility or ability to complete an action, focusing on whether it can or cannot be achieved.
Difference from Result Complements:
Result Complements: Show the outcome of an action (e.g., 看完 kàn wán “to finish reading”).
Potential Complements: Indicate whether an action is possible or feasible (e.g., 看得完 kàn de wán “can finish reading”; 看不完 kàn bù wán “cannot finish reading”).
Structure:
Affirmative: [Subject] + [Verb] + 得 + [Complement] + [Object]
Negative: [Subject] + [Verb] + 不 + [Complement] + [Object]
Main Potential Complements:
了 (liǎo) – Ability to finish a task (e.g., 做得了 zuò de liǎo “can finish”; 做不了 zuò bù liǎo “cannot finish”).
着 (zháo) – Success in achieving something (e.g., 见得着 jiàn de zháo “can meet”; 见不着 jiàn bù zháo “cannot meet”).
起 (qǐ) – Affordability (e.g., 买得起 mǎi de qǐ “can afford”; 买不起 mǎi bù qǐ “cannot afford”).
Today’s Exercises
Translate these English sentences into Mandarin, using the appropriate result complements:
I can’t finish reading this book today.
Can you find him at the station?
We can’t afford to buy such an expensive house.
She can’t meet the deadline.
Can you afford this bag?
🌀 Translation #1
I can’t finish reading this book today.
In this sentence, we use a potential complement to express the inability to finish reading a book within a specific time frame, in this case, today. The key here is the use of 完 to indicate the completion of the action, and its combination with 不 to show the impossibility of finishing.
📚 Structure: [Subject] + [Time expression] + [Verb] + 不 + [Potential complement] + [Object]
Let’s break this down piece by piece:
我 (wǒ) means “I.”
今天 (jīntiān) means “today.” It functions as the time expression in this sentence, which typically appears right after the subject in Mandarin.
看 (kàn) means “to read.”
In Mandarin, 看 can mean “to look at” or “to read,” but in the context of books or reading material, it is widely understood to mean “to read.”
Read CGG #31 lesson to know more about the difference between 看 and 见.
不完 (bù wán) is the potential complement.
不 (bù) is the negative particle, indicating impossibility.
完 (wán) means “to finish” or “to complete.”
Together, 看不完 (kàn bù wán) means “cannot finish reading.” This is where the potential complement comes into play. Instead of focusing on the outcome (like a result complement would), the potential complement here highlights that the action of reading cannot be completed today.
这 (zhè) means “this.”
本 (běn) is the measure word for books. In Mandarin, every noun typically requires a measure word when referring to a specific quantity of that noun, and 本 is specifically used for books.
书 (shū) means “book.”
Recap
我今天看不完这本书。
我 / 今天 / 看 / 不 / 完 / 这 / 本 / 书 。
wǒ jīntiān kàn bù wán zhè běn shū
I can’t finish reading this book today.
I / today / read / not / (potential complement 完) / this / (measure word 本 for books) / book.
Let’s practice the sentences with my audio recordings:
Slow speed:
Normal speed:
🌀 Translation #2
Can you find him at the station?
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