Skip to content
HSK 2.0 Level 2+ HSK 3.0 Level 2+ 7 min read

Verb + 得 to Say How Well Something Is Done

Use verb + 得 + adjective to comment on how someone does something, like 他跑得很快 or 你说得很对.

Pattern

Verb + 得 + (很/不/太…) + adjective; (Verb +) object + verb + 得 + adjective

To judge how an action is done, put the judgment after the verb with 得: 跑得很快, 说得不好.

他汉语说得很好。

When to use Verb + 得 to Say How Well Something Is Done

Put 得 right after a verb, then an adjective phrase that says how the action is done or how well: 他跑得很快 “he runs fast”, 你说得很对 “what you said is right”. As in English “runs fast”, the comment comes after the verb, but Chinese must link the two with 得. The adjective usually takes 很, 太, 真 or 不; a bare adjective (跑得快) often sounds like a comparison.

他跑得很快。

He runs fast.

你说得很对。

You’re right. (literally: you said it very correctly)

我昨天睡得不好。

I didn’t sleep well last night.

你写汉字写得真好看！

Your Chinese characters look really nice!

Common traps

  • Say 他汉语说得很好 or 他说汉语说得很好, not 他说汉语得很好: 得 never comes right after an object.
  • Say 他说得不好, not 他不说得好: 不 goes after 得, before the adjective.
  • Say 他跑得很快, not 他跑的很快: after a verb, the comment is linked with 得, not 的.

Targeted drill

Practice this exact pattern before moving on.

这是我买 书

This is the book I bought
Fill in the missing piece, then press Enter

How we make our content