▎到, dào, (Ptc), as Verb Complement, to be successful in... (4)

 

Function When the particle 到 serves as a verb complement, it has the meaning ‘to be successful’ in an action.

1 在台灣很容易買到外國東西。

Zài Táiwān hěn róngyì mǎidào wàiguó dōngxi.

In Taiwan, it is easy to buy foreign goods.

2 我找了很久，才找到了我的手機。

Wǒ zhǎole hěn jiǔ, cái zhǎodào le wǒ de shǒujī.

I looked for a long time before I found my cell phone.

3 我們答應老師以後要天天來上課，我們得做到。

Wǒmen dāyìng lǎoshī yǐhòu yào tiāntiān lái shàngkè, wǒmen děi zuòdào.

We promised the teacher that in the future we’ll come to class every day, so we have to make good on that.

 

Structures

Negation：The pattern V＋到 can only be negated by 沒.

1 他沒想到搬家麻煩極了。

Tā méi xiǎngdào bānjiā máfán jíle.

He did not expect moving to be such a big hassle.

2 今年我在台灣過生日，所以沒吃到媽媽做的蛋糕。

Jīnnián wǒ zài Táiwān guò shēngrì, suǒyǐ méi chīdào māma zuò de dàngāo.

This year, I had my birthday in Taiwan, so I didn’t get to eat a cake made by my mom.

3 我在百貨公司看了半天，可是我沒找到我要的。

Wǒ zài bǎihuò gōngsī kànle bàn tiān, kěshì wǒ méi zhǎodào wǒ yào de.

I looked around the department store for a long time, but I didn’t find what I wanted.

Questions：

1 十樓聽得到聽不到汽車的聲音？

Shí lóu tīngdedào tīngbúdào qìchē de shēngyīn?

Can you hear cars from the 10th floor?

2 你喜歡的水果，在台灣是不是買得到？

Nǐ xǐhuān de shuǐguǒ, zài Táiwān shìbúshì mǎidedào?

Can you buy the fruit you like in Taiwan?

3 小美的電話你找到了沒有？

Xiǎoměi de diànhuà nǐ zhǎodào le méi yǒu?

Did you find Xiaomei’s phone number?

 

Usage

(1) Perception verbs like 看kàn ‘to see’ and 聽tīng ‘to hear’ can combine with either 到dào or 見jiàn with the same meaning. 到 is more common in Taiwan, whereas 見 is commoner on the mainland.

1 我看見他在打太極拳。

Wǒ kànjiàn tā zài dǎ Tàijí quán.

I saw him practicing Tai Chi.

2 我看到他在打太極拳。

Wǒ kàndào tā zài dǎ Tàijí quán.

I saw him practicing Tai Chi.

(2) The complement 到 can be used in all the complement structures, i.e., 看到kàndào, 沒看到méi kàndào, 看得到kàndedào, 看不到kànbúdào.

(3) 沒想到méi xiǎngdào has become idiomatic. It often occurs at the beginning of a sentence to express the speaker’s surprise. 想不到xiǎngbúdào means and behaves the same as 沒想到.

1 沒想到你爸爸這麼會做菜。

Méi xiǎngdào nǐ bàba zhème huì zuò cài.

I had no idea your dad could cook so well.

2 想不到你爸爸這麼會做菜。

Xiǎngbúdào nǐ bàba zhème huì zuò cài.

I had no idea your father could cook so well.