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Mandarin Pathways
Grammar reference

Verb + 完 / 到 / 见 / 好 — result complements

Result complements 完/到/见/好 — how the action turned out

Placed directly after a verb, a result complement says what became of the action — not just that it happened, but how it turned out. 完 (wán) = finished, nothing left: 吃完 (finish eating), 做完 (finish doing/making). 到 (dào) = successfully reached, achieved, or made contact with a goal: 找到 (found it — the search succeeded), 买到 (managed to buy it). 见 (jiàn) = registered through the senses, mainly sight and sound: 看见 (caught sight of), 听见 (caught the sound of). 好 (hǎo) = done properly, satisfactorily, ready: 准备好了 (all prepared), 收拾好了 (packed up properly). The deciding question: what exactly resulted from the action — nothing left (→完), a goal achieved (→到), something perceived by the senses (→见), or a task properly finished and ready (→好)? These complements attach directly to the bare verb and are negated with 没 (没吃完 — didn't finish eating), not with plain 不.

Examples

  • 行李我已经收拾好了。
    xíng li wǒ yǐ jīng shōu shi hǎo le

    I've already packed the luggage properly.

  • 我终于找到我的钥匙了，可是作业还没做完。
    wǒ zhōng yú zhǎo dào wǒ de yào shi le, kě shì zuò yè hái méi zuò wán

    I finally found my keys, but I still haven't finished my homework.

  • 我看见他了，可是没听见他说什么。
    wǒ kàn jiàn tā le, kě shì méi tīng jiàn tā shuō shén me

    I saw him, but I didn't hear what he said.

Common mistake

✗ Wrong: 我做到作业了。

✓ Right: 我做完作业了。

Finishing an assignment (using up all the work, nothing left) needs 完 — 到 marks successfully reaching or achieving a target (找到 — found it, 做到 — accomplished/achieved a goal), which is a different result from simply finishing a task.

Practice this pattern

Fill in the missing character:

行李我已经收拾＿了。

I've already packed the luggage properly.