Top Grammar Mistake in Chinese _ Why You’re Using ‘Can’t’ Wrong in Chinese

You might be thinking, I've learned to use 能, 可以, or 会 to express can, could, be able to. So why not use 不能, 不可以, or can't? 嗨,大家好,我是拉拉。 Welcome back to 拉拉的中文课。 Today we're gonna talk about a very common grammar mistake that many Chinese learners, especially English speakers, often make. Let's see if you've made this mistake too. The signal is cutting out. I can't hear you clearly. 信号不好,我不能听清楚。 I've had too much coffee, now I can't sleep. 我喝了太多咖啡,现在不可以睡觉。 I can't do it on my own. 我不能一个人做这个工作。 Most Chinese learners make mistakes when trying to express can't, couldn't in Chinese. You might be thinking, I've learned to use 能, 可以, or 会 to express can, could, be able to. So why not use 不能, 不可以, or can't? Well, it's a bit more complex than that, but today's video will help clear things up. 那我们就开始吧。 If you're interested in one-on-one lessons, feel free to contact me using the information in the description box. In Chinese, there are three common situations where you'd express can't or couldn't, and they're not always handled the same way as in English. Let me show you with a table. If something is not allowed, like drinking and driving, you can say 喝酒以后不可以开车, or 喝酒以后不能开车。 If something doesn't make sense or is inappropriate, like going somewhere dangerous, you would say 那里太危险了,你不能去。 Up till now, the use of can't and 不能, 不可以 seems almost the same. 但是, here is where it gets tricky. When something can't be done due to objective or subjective conditions, using 不能, 不可以 won't always work. Instead, you need to use something called a potential complement. Let's look at an example. It's too far, I can't see clearly. In Chinese, you would say 太远了,我看不清楚。 Here, the distance is an objective condition preventing you from seeing clearly. I can't sleep because I'm worried about tomorrow's exam. 我睡不着,因为我担心明天的考试。 In this case, your worry is a subjective condition that stops you from sleeping. This is the basic structure of the potential complement. Verb plus 不 plus complement. For example, 看不清楚, 清楚 means clear, or 睡不着, Here, 着 indicates the completion of a result. Similar phrases include 找不着。 Now let's go back to the sentences from the start and correct them. I'm sure you can say the correct sentence. 信号不好,我听不清楚。 我喝了太多咖啡,现在睡不着。 I know you might still be confused about what a potential complement is and how to use it. Don't worry, here are some of the most common ones arranged from easy to more challenging. If you've already learned potential complements, try to see if you can translate them correctly. 对不起,我听不见。 or 对不起,我听不到。 我找不到我的手机。 我看不懂汉字。 我吃不完一整个披萨。 我害怕坐飞机,所以坐飞机以前我睡不好。 在飞机上也睡不着。 我买不起房子。 太重了,我搬不动。 我的行李箱放不下那么多东西。 我记不住那么多汉字。 现在堵车,我赶不上飞机了。 他的名字,嗯,我想不起来。 别笑了,我忍不住。 我看不出来他是生气还是高兴。 To help you practice potential complements more, I'll be releasing short videos every other day after this one, focusing on exercises to reinforce today's lesson. So make sure to subscribe to my channel so you won't miss out. Wait, did I miss something? There's still one more incorrect sentence we haven't fixed. 我一个人做不了。 Verb plus 不了 is another commonly used potential complement. For example, 我今天不舒服,所以来不了。 This structure is sometimes interchangeable with 不能 in certain cases, such as 我今天不舒服,所以不能来。 In a sentence where the verb is not followed by a complement, you might be able to use either form to express can't. For example, 停电了,晚上的比赛看不了了。 Or 停电了,晚上的比赛不能看了。 However, when there is a complement after the verb, you must use a potential complement. For example, 信号不好,比赛的时候看不清楚。 As a Chinese teacher, I can say that figuring out how to say can or cannot in Chinese is one of the trickiest part of the language. But once you've mastered it, it shows you really living up your Chinese. You might wonder, potential complements have both affirmative and negative forms. Why did you only focus on the negative form in today's video? Well, potential complements usually appear in negative sentences. They are used in affirmative sentences much less often. That is to say, when expressing cannot, you often have to use the negative form of a potential complement. And when asking questions, you might also use a potential complement. However, when expressing can, the affirmative form of the potential complement is rarely used, except when you're answering a question that includes a potential complement. That's it for today's lesson. Well, understanding these complements is just the first step. The real key is to get comfortable using them when speaking Chinese. So don't forget to subscribe to catch the upcoming short videos for practice. And if you want more free Chinese lessons, check out my other videos. 谢谢! Bye bye.