# HSK 4 Grammar: Potential Complement Verb + 得了 / 不了 (de/bù liǎo) | HSKReady Canonical: https://hskready.app/en/grammar/hsk-4-potential-complements-2-g052 Language: en Content ID: web-grammar-hsk-4-g052 HSK levels: 4 Updated: 2026-10-23T04:56:37.688Z Scope: published website educational content; full vocabulary, question bank and mock exams remain in the app. Learn how to use the Chinese potential complement 动词+得/不+了 (liǎo) to express whether an action can be carried out or finished, including word order and key contrasts. Grammar [HSK 4 · Sentence components › Potential complements 2](https://hskready.app/en/grammar/hsk-4#hsk-4-g052) # HSK 4 Potential Complement 2: Verb + 得/不 + 了 (de/bù liǎo) In Chinese, attaching 得了 (de liǎo) or 不了 (bù liǎo) directly after a verb creates a potential complement that shows whether an action is possible to perform or complete under specific circumstances. Subject Verb 得了 Object Example sentence 今天雨太大，我们去不了公园了。 jīntiān yǔ tài dà, wǒmen qù bù liǎo gōngyuán le. The rain is too heavy today; we can't go to the park. Expresses that external conditions make carrying out the action impossible. Note that the first 了 is read liǎo (part of the complement), while the sentence-final 了 is read le (indicating a new situation). A common mistake × 今天工作太多，我下班不了。 jīntiān gōngzuò tài duō, wǒ xiàbān bù liǎo. Intended: There is too much work today; I can't get off work. Incorrect: 下班 is a separable verb-object word (离合词), where 下 is the verb and 班 is the inner object. A potential complement cannot be placed after the object; use the split order in “今天工作太多，我下不了班。” instead. Corrected example: 今天工作太多，我下不了班。 **Read the full explanation and examples** ## What Verb + 得/不 + 了 Means and How It Sounds In the HSK Level 4 grammar outline, the pattern 动词+得/不+了 is categorized under sentence constituents as Potential Complement 2 (可能补语2). As a complement, 得/不+了 attaches directly to the main verb of a predicate to indicate whether an action can be realized given current conditions, physical ability, or practical constraints. Crucially, the character 了 in this structure is not the aspect particle pronounced le. Here, it derives from the verb meaning to finish or settle, and it is always pronounced liǎo in the third tone (with 得 read in the neutral tone de, and 不 read as bù). Usage note: In everyday speech and writing, the negative form Verb + 不了 (bù liǎo) is far more common than the affirmative form. Speakers typically use the affirmative Verb + 得了 (de liǎo) in questions (such as asking if someone can manage something) or to directly reassure someone after a doubt has been raised. ## Two Core Uses: Carrying Out vs. Finishing an Action Depending on the verb and context, Verb + 得/不 + 了 expresses one of two closely related ideas. - Possibility of carrying out an action: Whether objective circumstances or personal conditions allow the action to happen at all (similar to being able or unable to do something). - Possibility of finishing or handling all of something: Whether the subject has the capacity to finish, consume, or deal with a given amount (functioning similarly to Verb + 得/不 + 完). In the first two examples below, the speaker focuses on whether external weather conditions or a physical recovery allow the action to take place at all: 今天雨太大，我们去不了公园了。 jīntiān yǔ tài dà, wǒmen qù bù liǎo gōngyuán le. The rain is too heavy today; we can't go to the park. Expresses that external conditions make carrying out the action impossible. Note that the first 了 is read liǎo (part of the complement), while the sentence-final 了 is read le (indicating a new situation). 你的腿好了吗？明天走得了路吗？ nǐ de tuǐ hǎo le ma? míngtiān zǒu de liǎo lù ma? Is your leg better? Will you be able to walk tomorrow? Uses the affirmative 得了 in a question to ask about physical capability. Because 走路 is a separable verb-object compound, 得了 goes between 走 and 路. In the next two examples, the issue is quantity and capacity—whether one person can finish eating all the food or manage carrying all the luggage: 菜太多了，我一个人吃不了。 cài tài duō le, wǒ yī gè rén chī bù liǎo. There are too many dishes; I can't finish them by myself. Here 吃不了 means unable to finish consuming the quantity (similar to 吃不完), with 菜 placed at the front as the topic. 这么多行李，你一个人拿得了吗？ zhème duō xíngli, nǐ yī gè rén ná de liǎo ma? With this much luggage, can you manage to carry it by yourself? The object 这么多行李 is topicalized at the start of the sentence, and 拿得了 asks if the listener has the capacity to handle that amount. ## Sentence Structures and Word Order Rules Because 得了 and 不了 are complements, they must bind tightly to the verb stem. Nothing can be inserted between the verb and 得/不. When the verb takes an object, that object must either follow the entire complement or be moved to the front of the sentence/clause as a topic (which is very common when emphasizing a large quantity or a specific item). Subject Verb 得了 Object Subject Verb 不了 Object Object Subject Verb 得了 / 不了 Position restrictions to watch carefully: - Separable verbs (离合词): Many two-syllable Chinese verbs—such as 下班 (to get off work), 睡觉 (to sleep), or 见面 (to meet)—are actually Verb + Object compounds. You must place 得/不+了 after the verb first syllable and before the object second syllable. - Check the scope of any extra negation. 不是去不了 means “it is not that I cannot go”; it rejects an inability claim and does not mean that I must go. Avoid adding negative words mechanically when you only intend the simple inability 去不了. - Modal verb overlap: In standard statements, avoid stacking 能 or 可以 directly in front of Verb + 不了; the complement already carries the meaning of possibility. × 今天工作太多，我下班不了。 jīntiān gōngzuò tài duō, wǒ xiàbān bù liǎo. Intended: There is too much work today; I can't get off work. Incorrect: 下班 is a separable verb-object word (离合词), where 下 is the verb and 班 is the inner object. A potential complement cannot be placed after the object; use the split order in “今天工作太多，我下不了班。” instead. Corrected example: 今天工作太多，我下不了班。 今天工作太多，我下不了班。 jīntiān gōngzuò tài duō, wǒ xià bù liǎo bān. There is too much work today; I can't get off work. Correct placement: 不了 is inserted directly after the verb root 下 and before the object component 班. ## Distinguishing Verb + 得/不 + 了 from Neighbouring Forms Learners often wonder how Verb + 得/不 + 了 differs from other potential complements (such as 完, 下, or 懂) and from simple modal verbs like 不能. - 吃不了 and 吃不完 can overlap when the issue is finishing a large quantity. 完 explicitly targets completion, whereas 了 can refer more generally to whether the action is feasible. 去不了 can mean a trip is not possible; 去不完 needs a context about completing visits or an itinerary rather than simply making one trip possible. - In the suitcase example, 放不下 identifies a specific capacity problem, whereas 带不了 leaves the practical obstacle open. This comparison concerns those examples: 下 also has established non-spatial uses, such as 放不下一件事 (“cannot let go of a matter”). - Both 不能 + Verb and Verb + 不了 can express inability. 不能 can also prohibit an action, while 不了 commonly focuses on whether it can be carried out or managed in context. Compare 不能去 (“cannot/must not go”, depending on context) with 去不了 (“cannot manage to go”). Compare how 放不下 focuses specifically on physical container space, while 带不了 focuses broadly on the practical inability to take the items along when moving: 箱子太小，放不下这些衣服。 xiāngzi tài xiǎo, fàng bù xià zhèxiē yīfu. The suitcase is too small; it can't fit these clothes. Contrast example using 放不下 to highlight a specific spatial capacity limit. 我明天搬家，这些旧衣服带不了。 wǒ míngtiān bānjiā, zhèxiē jiù yīfu dài bù liǎo. I am moving house tomorrow, and I can't take these old clothes with me. Uses 带不了 to express general practical impossibility of taking the items along. Also keep this verb complement distinct from degree complements formed with adjectives or psychological verbs (such as 形容词/心理动词+死了), where 了 is read le and expresses extreme intensity rather than possibility. ## Frequently asked questions **How do I know whether to read 了 as le or liǎo?** In the potential complement of 做得了 or 去不了, read 了 as liǎo. In 去不了公园了, the last 了 is the sentence-final particle le. Read by grammatical function: 得了感冒 means “caught a cold”, with 得 as the main verb dé and 了 as the aspect particle le, not the potential pair de liǎo. **Can I use Verb + 得了 in normal affirmative statements?** You can, especially when answering a question (for example, '走得了吗？' — '走得了。') or reassuring someone that a task is manageable. In neutral statements without prior doubt, speakers more often use 能 or 可以 + Verb. **Is 吃不了 always the same as 吃不完?** Not always. When there is too much food on the table, both 吃不了 and 吃不完 mean 'cannot finish eating it.' However, 吃不了 can also mean 'unable to eat at all' due to dietary restrictions, illness, or spoiled food (for example, someone with a peanut allergy saying they 吃不了 peanuts), where 吃不完 cannot be used. **Source**[hsk.cn-bj.ufileos.com · PDF page 396](https://hsk.cn-bj.ufileos.com/3.0/%E6%96%B0%E7%89%88HSK%E8%80%83%E8%AF%95%E5%A4%A7%E7%BA%B21219.pdf#page=396) ## Continue in the app Full mock exams are available in HSKReady. [![Download on the App Store](https://hskready.app/download-on-app-store-black.svg)Download on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6791916440?l=en)[![Get it on Google Play](https://hskready.app/get-it-on-google-play.svg)Get it on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.curiolab.hskready&hl=en) [HSKReady App](https://hskready.app/en/app)