Potential complement (2): 了 (liǎo), 动, 下
补语 / complements
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
Three very common potential complements:
- V得了 / V不了 (liǎo): can you manage / finish it, or is it possible at all? 这么多菜，我吃不了 (I can't eat this much). 明天我去不了 (I can't make it tomorrow).
- V得动 / V不动: do you have the physical strength to move something or yourself? 我走不动了 (I can't walk any more). 这个箱子你拿得动吗？
- V得下 / V不下: is there enough room / capacity? 这个手机存不下这么多照片 (this phone can't store that many photos). 我吃不下了 (I can't eat another bite).
Here 了 is read liǎo, not le.
Examples
手机没电了，今天用不了了。
Shǒujī méi diàn le, jīntiān yòng bu liǎo le.My phone's dead, I can't use it any more today.
电脑太重了，我拿不动。
Diànnǎo tài zhòng le, wǒ ná bu dòng.The computer is too heavy for me to carry.
我的手机太旧，装不下新软件了。
Wǒ de shǒujī tài jiù, zhuāng bu xià xīn ruǎnjiàn le.My phone is too old, there's no room for new apps.
这个问题你解决得了吗？
Zhège wèntí nǐ jiějué de liǎo ma?Can you handle this problem?
Common mistakes
✗ Reading 吃不了 as "chī bu le" → ✓ chī bu liǎo.
✗ 我不走动了。 → ✓ 我走不动了。
吃不了 (too much food to finish) and 吃不下 (no room left in your stomach) are close, but 吃不下 stresses capacity.