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Level Upper-Intermediate Chinese · HSK 4

So Much That: 得 + Clause, 把…V得…, V着V着 and Paired Question Words

At B1 得 was followed by a short comment: 说得很好. At B2 it can be followed by a whole clause describing the effect, which is how Chinese says 'so … that'. The same idea combines with 把 when you do something to an object until it reaches a state. Two more spoken patterns round this off: V着V着 for something that happens in the middle of an activity, and paired question words for 'whatever you like'.

Verb / adjective + 得 + clause

After 得 (de) you can put a full clause saying how far the state went: 他高兴得跳了起来 (he was so happy he jumped up). English needs 'so … that'; Chinese needs only 得. Fixed endings like 得要命 (to death) and 得不得了 (extremely) work the same way.

  • 她感动得说不出话来。

    Tā gǎndòng de shuō bu chū huà lai.

    She was so moved she couldn't speak.

  • 我累得一躺下就睡着了。

    Wǒ lèi de yì tǎngxia jiù shuìzháo le.

    I was so tired I fell asleep the moment I lay down.

把 + object + V得 + result

把 (bǎ) puts the object before the verb, and 得 + result says what state it ended up in: 她把房间打扫得干干净净 (she cleaned the room until it was spotless). Reduplicated adjectives (干干净净, 整整齐齐) are typical here.

  • 他把衣服叠得整整齐齐。

    Tā bǎ yīfu dié de zhěngzhěngqíqí.

    He folded the clothes very neatly.

  • 孩子们把客厅弄得乱七八糟。

    Háizimen bǎ kètīng nòng de luànqībāzāo.

    The kids left the living room in a complete mess.

V着V着 and paired question words

V着V着 (verb + 着 twice) means 'while doing V (for a while), suddenly…'. The second clause tells what happened unexpectedly: 说着说着，她哭了 (as she was talking, she started to cry).

Paired question words say 'whatever, whoever, wherever': the same question word appears in both clauses, joined by 就. 想吃什么就吃什么 (eat whatever you like), 谁先到谁买票 (whoever arrives first buys the tickets).

  • 他看着看着就睡着了。

    Tā kànzhe kànzhe jiù shuìzháo le.

    He was reading and drifted off to sleep.

  • 周末你想去哪儿就去哪儿。

    Zhōumò nǐ xiǎng qù nǎr jiù qù nǎr.

    At the weekend you can go wherever you like.

  • 谁先做完谁先走。

    Shéi xiān zuòwán shéi xiān zǒu.

    Whoever finishes first can leave first.

Common mistakes

  • ✗他很高兴，所以他跳了起来。

    ✓他高兴得跳了起来。

    Tā gāoxìng de tiàole qilai.

    Not wrong, but flat. 得 + clause is the natural Chinese 'so … that'.

  • ✗她打扫房间得很干净。

    ✓她把房间打扫得很干净。

    Tā bǎ fángjiān dǎsǎo de hěn gānjìng.

    An object can't sit between the verb and 得. Use 把 to move it forward (or repeat the verb: 打扫房间打扫得很干净).

  • ✗你想吃什么，吃。

    ✓你想吃什么就吃什么。

    Nǐ xiǎng chī shénme jiù chī shénme.

    The question word is repeated in the second clause, joined by 就.

Questions learners ask

Why are 出来 and 起来 sometimes split, as in 说不出话来 and 下起雨来?

An object usually goes between the two parts of a compound directional complement: 说出 + 话 + 来, 下起 + 雨 + 来. With a place object it must (走进教室来, never 走进来教室); with an ordinary object the split is the usual spoken form, though 拿出来一本书 also occurs.

Can I use 着 once instead of 着着?

One 着 describes an ongoing state (他看着书). The doubled form specifically sets up a sudden change during the activity.

Practice this in lessons

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