Grammar · Verbs

得 for how well something is done

得 hooks a comment onto a verb: verb, 得, then how well it was done.

English puts an adverb after the verb, speaks well. Chinese uses 得 to attach the comment, and what follows it is a plain adjective, so 很 comes back. If the verb has an object, it is usually said first and the verb repeated: 他中文说得很好. This is the second of the three characters said de, and it is not interchangeable with 的.

Examples