Result Verbs and Achieved Endpoints in Chinese
打开/看见/离开/完成
Forms such as 打开, 看见, 离开, and 完成 include a result or endpoint in their lexical meaning. 打开 and 看见 show action plus achieved result; 离开 and 完成 present departure or completion. Aspect and objects attach in positions licensed by each whole verb, not inside its result sequence.
Published July 23, 2026
Reviewed July 23, 2026
01 / PATTERN
See the Structure
MODEL
Action Verb + Result; Resultative Verb + Object
Read the structure
Forms such as 打开, 看见, 离开, and 完成 include a result or endpoint in their lexical meaning. 打开 and 看见 show action plus achieved result; 离开 and 完成 present departure or completion. Aspect and objects attach in positions licensed by each whole verb, not inside its result sequence. Keep the model Action Verb + Result; Resultative Verb + Object visible while you compare each sentence.
请打开门。
Please open the door.
Choose the right context
Use 打开 when opening reaches the open state. Use 看见 when looking results in actual visual perception. Use 完成 with a task or project that reaches completion.
我看见老师了。
I saw the teacher.
Respect the boundary
Do not insert an object between an action verb and its result complement. Do not use 看见 when someone looked but did not actually see the target. Do not add another result complement after a verb that already expresses the intended endpoint.
请打门开。
(Please open the door.)
Repair the pattern
Object splits action and result: 打开 is the action-result unit meaning open; its object 门 follows the complete verb rather than splitting 打 and 开. Aspect marker splits action and result: 看见 is one action-result unit; 了 cannot be inserted between its action verb 看 and result 见.
请打开门。
Use the repaired structure without changing the intended meaning.
02 / MAP
Read the Sentence
Read from left to right and notice the job performed by each part. The labels describe this example; they are not a rule that every Chinese sentence must copy.
请打开门。
Please open the door.
请
Action Verb
This part occupies the Action Verb position in the model pattern.
打开
Result; Resultative Verb
This part occupies the Result; Resultative Verb position in the model pattern.
门
Object
This part occupies the Object position in the model pattern.
03 / EXAMPLES
Examples You Can Reuse
Keep the structure stable while changing the people, objects, times, or conditions. Pinyin is shown as reading support; use the Chinese sentence and translation to confirm the grammar relationship.
请打开门。
Please open the door.
我看见老师了。
I saw the teacher.
他完成了作业。
He completed the homework.
04 / LIMITS
When to Use It — and When Not To
Use it when
- Use 打开 when opening reaches the open state.
- Use 看见 when looking results in actual visual perception.
- Use 完成 with a task or project that reaches completion.
Do not use it when
- Do not insert an object between an action verb and its result complement.
- Do not use 看见 when someone looked but did not actually see the target.
- Do not add another result complement after a verb that already expresses the intended endpoint.
05 / REPAIR
Compare Right and Wrong
Compare the smallest meaningful change. Each explanation identifies a placement, scope, form, or clause relationship instead of treating the whole sentence as one undifferentiated mistake.
请打门开。
请打开门。
Object splits action and result
打开 is the action-result unit meaning open; its object 门 follows the complete verb rather than splitting 打 and 开.
我看了见老师。
我看见老师了。
Aspect marker splits action and result
看见 is one action-result unit; 了 cannot be inserted between its action verb 看 and result 见.
请打门开。
打开 is the action-result unit meaning open; its object 门 follows the complete verb rather than splitting 打 and 开.
我看了见老师。
看见 is one action-result unit; 了 cannot be inserted between its action verb 看 and result 见.
06 / PRACTICE
Practice the Grammar Point
Complete three short tasks in order: judge the pattern, repair a common error, and build the sentence. Feedback is fixed and reviewed, so these activities do not use a checker allowance.
1. Judge the sentence
2. Choose the correction
3. Build the sentence
Build a complete sentence with 打开/看见/离开/完成.
07 / APPLY
Apply It in Your Sentence
Write one original sentence with 打开/看见/离开/完成. Your draft moves to the checker through this browser session, selects this grammar point as the first review focus, and waits for you to submit.
08 / QUESTIONS
Result Verbs and Achieved Endpoints Questions
How does 看 differ from 看见?
看 names the act of looking; 看见 says that looking achieved visual perception.
Can 离开 take a place object?
Yes. The place departed from normally follows it, as in 离开学校.
09 / SOURCES
Sources and Review Notes
These references support different parts of the lesson. GF0025-2021 supports level placement only; professional grammar works support the explanation, limits, examples, and cross-checks. Their inclusion does not imply endorsement.
Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education (GF0025-2021)
Ministry of Education and State Language Commission · Ministry of Education of the PRC · 2021
Locator: GF0025-2021 Appendix A, Level 3 item 【三06】 (PDF p. 198)
Provides official Level 3 directory placement and examples only; it does not establish the learner-facing usage explanation.
Official sourceModern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide, 3rd ed.
Ross, Ma, Chen, He and Yeh · Routledge · 2024
Locator: Chapter 18, §§18.1-18.4, resultative verbs and result complements
Explains action-result ordering, achieved-result meaning, and the placement of objects after the complete resultative unit.
Official source10 / CONTINUE
Continue with a Connected Rule
Easy to confuse
重动词Repeated Verb Around a Complement
Distinguish lexical action-result combinations like 打开 and 看见 from verb repetition required before a 得 complement.
Compare
个不停/个没完Continuous State Complement with 个
Distinguish the terminal result of the separable result verb from the continuous non-termination of 个不停个没完. Note that the event boundary is opposite.
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完/到/见Result Complements (完/到/见)
Analyze 打开看见离开完成 into actions and results, and continue to master the 完成 meaning and object position of the result complement.
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