<p>I think basically what you wrote in your question is right. </p>

<p>As for: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>What's the difference between 你能看完这本书吗？and 你看得完这本书吗?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Let's remove 这本书. 你能看完吗？vs 你看得完吗?, I can't seize any difference in meaning between them. It's just different syntax being used to express the same semantics. In practice, you can probably replace one with the other without any problems. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-28T08:19:35.977Z
2018-07-28T08:19:35.977Z
dan
<p>They are same as to the meaning, but different in grammar and style, more specifically, "你能看完这本书吗？" is usually used in speech </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-28T15:15:28.783Z
2018-07-28T15:15:28.783Z
XL _At_Here_There
<p>They have roughly the same meaning. The former one is a simple question, while the latter emphasizes the question of whether you can complete reading of the book, implying the fact that you're reading the book, but you may not have enough time (or capability) to complete it. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-28T14:47:21.617Z
2018-07-28T14:47:21.617Z
user20155
<p>I just happened to randomly come across this question.</p>

<p>What's the difference between 你能看完这本书吗？and 你看得完这本书吗?</p>

<p>To me, they all mean can you finish reading the book, but the former uses result complement and the latter uses potential complement. I am not trying to completely revoke the idea of using potential complement, but still in some cases it just seems replaceable to me.</p>

<p>How do Chinese people distinguish when to use either of the two?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-28T06:53:42.150Z
former uses modal verb (能愿动词）能, can,be able to,etc ＋ complement of result,(see any grammar on modal/auxiliary verbs),incidentally both 能 and potential complement can be used simultaneously (redundantly)你能看得完这本书吗？ When to use which has been discussed at this site (among other places) before
user6065
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-29T14:29:03.323Z
As a native speaker, I think they are interchangeable. However, the latter one could also be used to express your doubt about the possibility for him/her to finish reading the book, while the former one usually just be used as a simple question.
xbh
<grammar>
Difference between 你能看完这本书吗？ vs 你看得完这本书吗？
# Difference between 你能看完这本书吗？ vs 你看得完这本书吗？

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-07-28)

I just happened to randomly come across this question.

What's the difference between 你能看完这本书吗？and 你看得完这本书吗?

To me, they all mean can you finish reading the book, but the former uses result complement and the latter uses potential complement. I am not trying to completely revoke the idea of using potential complement, but still in some cases it just seems replaceable to me.

How do Chinese people distinguish when to use either of the two?

**Tags:** grammar
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: former uses modal verb (能愿动词）能, can,be able to,etc ＋ complement of result,(see any grammar on modal/auxiliary verbs),incidentally both 能 and potential complement can be used simultaneously (redundantly)你能看得完这本书吗？ When to use which has been discussed at this site (among other places) before  
> **username_2**: As a native speaker, I think they are interchangeable. However, the latter one could also be used to express your doubt about the possibility for him/her to finish reading the book, while the former one usually just be used as a simple question.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-07-28. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

I think basically what you wrote in your question is right.

As for:

> What's the difference between 你能看完这本书吗？and 你看得完这本书吗?

Let's remove 这本书. 你能看完吗？vs 你看得完吗?, I can't seize any difference in meaning between them. It's just different syntax being used to express the same semantics. In practice, you can probably replace one with the other without any problems.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2018-07-28. Score: 0

They are same as to the meaning, but different in grammar and style, more specifically, "你能看完这本书吗？" is usually used in speech


---

### Answer by username_5 on 2018-07-28. Score: 0

They have roughly the same meaning. The former one is a simple question, while the latter emphasizes the question of whether you can complete reading of the book, implying the fact that you're reading the book, but you may not have enough time (or capability) to complete it.


---

