---
title: "verb + 不/得 + result (potential) in Chinese Grammar: Cannot / can (manage to) …, With Examples"
description: "verb + 不/得 + result (potential): cannot / can (manage to) …. Verb + 得/不 + result says whether the result can be achieved. 4 real lines from stories, each word explained."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-bu-c"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[Chinese grammar](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar)

# verb + 不/得 + result (potential)

Cannot / can (manage to) …

Verb + 得/不 + result says whether the result can be achieved.

## In stories

饭馆不大，只**放得下**五张桌子。

[多出来的鸡蛋 · One egg too many](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/one-egg-too-many#library-word-43-46) HSK 2

孙悟空还了罩子，回来找那件袈裟，可是哪里也**找不到**。

[火烧观音院 · Fire at Guanyin Temple](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/fire-at-guanyin-temple-journey-to-the-west-easy-chinese-13#library-word-792-795) HSK 3

二十个词，一个也**看不出来**了。

[楼下（上） · Downstairs (part 1)](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/grandmas-notebook-downstairs-part-1#library-word-920-924) HSK 3

蒸笼下面的词已经**看不出来**了，旁边只有两个小字还在：楼下。

[楼下（下） · Downstairs (part 2)](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/grandmas-notebook-downstairs-part-2#library-word-160-164) HSK 3

[Read 多出来的鸡蛋](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/one-egg-too-many#library-word-43-46)

## More patterns

- [verb + 得 + complement says how something is done (how well, how much, with what result)](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-de-c)
- [再也 + 不/没 never again; not any more](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zaiye-bu)
- [谁 + 也/都 + (V不C) no one / nothing: …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/shei-ye-neg-v)
- [verb + 不了/得了 cannot …; can …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-bu-liao)
- [一 + measure word (+ noun) + 也/都 + 不/没 not a single …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/yi-cl-ye-bu)
- [一点(儿) + 也/都 + 不/没 not … at all](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/yidian-ye-neg)

## What does verb + 不/得 + result (potential) mean in Chinese?

Cannot / can (manage to) …. Verb + 得/不 + result says whether the result can be achieved.

## How common is verb + 不/得 + result (potential)?

It comes up in 55 readings of the 392 stories and articles in our free Library.

## Does it correct my mistakes?

No. It shows which patterns a text uses and what each one does; it doesn’t mark errors. Paste a sentence you wrote to see whether it uses the pattern you meant.

## More free tools

- [Chinese dictionary](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dictionary)
- [Measure words](https://mandarinthewild.com/measure-words)
- [How hard is this text?](https://mandarinthewild.com/text-level)
- [Free Chinese stories](https://mandarinthewild.com/library)

Patterns found by our own parser; lines from our free Library.