看得见 / 听不懂 / 来得及 / 来不及 / 受不了 / 买不起 / 睡不着【kàndejiàn / tīngbudǒng / láidejí / láibují / shòubuliǎo / mǎibuqǐ / shuìbuzháo】

Some potential complements turn up so often that they are learnt as words. The frame is the usual one – 得 for "can", 不 for "can't" – and in speech the negative is far more common than the positive.

Seeing and hearing, or understanding

见 is whether your eyes or ears pick something up. 懂 is whether you understand it.

• × 我不能听懂 → 我听不懂
• × 我不能看见黑板 → 我看不见黑板

来得及 and 来不及

来得及 means there is still time; 来不及 means it is too late, or there isn't enough time. Either can stand alone or take a verb after it.

V不了: can't manage it at all

了 here is read liǎo. V不了 says the action can't happen, whatever the reason. 受不了 "can't stand it" is the one you hear most.

起, 着 and 下

买不起 is "can't afford", 睡不着 "can't get to sleep" (着 is read zháo), and 吃不下 "too full to eat any more".