D. Verbs taking a direct quotation do not take verb-suffix le 了.

Note: (x) means that -le 了 may not be used there.

  1. Tā shuō (x), “Wǒ yǐjīng bìyè sān nián le.”
    他说：“我已经毕业三年了。”
    He said, “it's been three years since I graduated.”


  2. Tā wèn (x) wǒ: “Nǐ chī fàn le ma?”
    他问我：“你吃饭了吗？”
    He asked me, “Have you eaten yet?”