The article presents the results of the analysis of the combinatorial properties of verb-object separable compounds (liheci) in modern Chinese. A hypothesis about different levels of formal and semantic unity of the compounds was tested and the compounds were classified according to their semantics. Further, the combinatorial properties of verb-object separable compounds with “dummy object” are discussed taking into account the formal criterion of insertion of different elements before the nominal component of liheci. Two types of “dummy object” and, consequently, two subtypes of liheci with “dummy objects” are distinguished. The first subtype includes liheci in which the nominal component semantically duplicates the meaning of the verbal component. The second subtype is represented by liheci in which the nominal component is a generic object.