Although the aspect particle 了 le is one of the most complicated Chinese grammar points, I will only be explaining the practical aspect of the particle in this section.
Unlike the English past tense, the aspect particle 了 le only affects certain verbs in certain sentence constructions. The following list consists of the common rules for the use of the particle which are supported by examples. Learning where to apply the aspect particle 了 le in a sentence is important, but the most difficult thing is to know when it is not used. Learners must remember the following eight points when expressing a completed action in Chinese.
1. The aspect particle 了 le is placed after the main action verb of a sentence to indicate that the action has been completed. The aspect particle 了 le is not used when a verb is in the negative form. When expressing an action that did not occur in the past, a verb is preceded by the negation 没 méi did not. The following sentences demonstrate how some of the action verbs such as 学 xué to learn, 吃 chī to eat or 去 qù to go are used in the sentences with the aspect particle 了 le and the negation 没 méi .
The sentence below shows that the verb 吃 chī to eat is used in the affirmative form.
我 刚 吃了 一 块 面 包
I’ve just eaten a piece of bread.
The following sentence shows the verb 吃 chī to eat in the negative form.
我 没 吃 面 包
I didn’t eat bread.
The next sentence shows the verb 去 qù to go in the affirmative form.
他 去了 两 次 中 国
He went to China twice.
The following sentence shows 去 qù to go in the negative form.
他 没 去 中 国
He didn’t go to China.
The following sentence shows the verb 学 xué to learn in the affirmative form.
小 王 学 了 三 年 法文
Xiao Wang studied French for three years.
The following sentence shows the verb 学 xué to learn in the negative form.
小 王 没 学 法文
Xiao Wang didn’t study French.
If a sentence consists of a time measure such as three months or an action measure such as twice, the measures should be placed after the main verb of the sentence, as demonstrated below. More examples can be seen in Lesson 31 of Practical Chinese Reader Book II.
我 学 汉 语 学 了 三 个 月
我 学 了 三 个 月 的 汉 语
我 汉语 学 了 三 个 月
I studied Chinese for three months.
2. One might have noticed that the above affirmative sentences have complex objects. However, when describing a particular action, if the object of the sentence is a simple one i.e. a noun, which is not attached to a number and measure word, and not attached to a descriptive clause ( 的 clause), the aspect particle 了 le can be placed at the end of the sentence. For instance,
今 天 上 午 你 去 哪儿 了 or | 今 天 上 午 你 去了 哪儿 |
jīn tiān shàngwŭ nĭ qù năr le |
jīn tiān shàngwŭ nĭ qù le năr |
Where did you go this morning ?
我 去 买 书 了
I went out to buy (a) book .
Both objects of the sentences, 哪儿 năr where and 书 shū book are simple words without clauses attached, therefore the aspect particle 了 le can be placed at the end of the sentences.
As one can see that the answer in the above conversation uses the same sentence pattern as it is in the question.
3. The rules of the aspect particle 了 le only apply to the main verb of a sentence. If an action verb is used in a descriptive ( 的 ) clause as it demonstrated below, it will not be affected by the rules. The aspect 了 le is not used with stative verbs either. For example,
我 们 昨 天 学 的 汉 语 很 容 易
wǒmen zuótiān xué de hànyŭ hěn róngyì
The Chinese language that we learned yesterday was very easy .
The aspect particle 了 le is not used in the above sentence for the following two reasons.
4. The aspect particle 了 le is not used when describing a completed action that one has done regularly. In other words, if a sentence consists of the words that indicate regularity, such as 每天 měitiān everyday, 常常 chángcháng often or 总是 zǒngshì always, the aspect particle 了 le is not used, but a time adverb such as 昨天 zuótiān yesterday or 去年 qùnián last year is placed in a sentence to indicate that the action has been completed. The negation for a habitual action in the past is 不 bù do not, but not 没 méi . For example,
去 年 我 们 总 是 吃 中 国 饭
qùnián wǒmen zǒngshì chī zhōngguó fàn
We always ate Chinese meals last year.
去 年 我 们 每 天 都 不 吃 中 国 饭
qùnián wǒmen měitiān dōu bùchī zhōngguó fàn
We didn’t eat a Chinese meal during a single day.
5. When the verbs that imply habitual actions such as 是 shì , to be, 在 zài to be in and 有 yǒu to have are used as the main verbs of sentences, the aspect particle 了 le is not used. In this case the negation for these verbs is 不 bù not except for 有 yǒu . See below,
十 年 以前 小 王 是 汉 语 老 师
shí nián yĭqián xiăo wáng shì hànyŭ lăoshī
Xiao Wang was a Chinese language teacher ten years ago.
十 年 以前 小 王 不 是 汉 语 老 师
shí nián yĭqián xiăo wáng búshì hànyŭ lăoshī
Xiao Wang wasn’t a Chinese language teacher ten years ago.
昨 天 我 在 图书 馆
I was in the library yesterday.
昨 天 我 不在 图书 馆
I wasn’t in the library yesterday.
去 年 我 有 很 多 钱
I had a lot of money last year.
去 年 我 没 有 很 多 钱
I didn’t have a lot of money last year.
6. If a modal verb is used in a sentence, the aspect particle 了 le should not be applied, but a time adverb such as 昨天 zuótiān yesterday or 去年 qùnián last year is placed in the sentence to indicate the completion of the action. The negation for a modal verb in the past is 不 bù do not, but not 没 méi . Modal verbs are those verbs which express intentions, such as 想 xiăng wish to and 要 yào want to; the verbs that are used to express feelings such as 喜欢 xĭhuān like and 爱 ài love; or the verbs that express obligations such as 应该 yīnggāi ought to , 能 néng can and 可以 kěyĭ may. For instance,
昨 天 晚 上 我 很 想 吃 中 国 菜
zuótiān wănshang wǒhěn xiăng chī zhōngguó cài
I really wanted to eat some Chinese food last night.
昨 天 晚 上 我 不想 吃 中 国 菜
zuótiān wănshang wǒ bùxiăng chī zhōngguó cài
I didn’t want to eat Chinese food last night.
7. The aspect particle 了 le is not used in the complement of degree construction. In other words when one expresses a sentence using verb+ 得+adverb , the aspect particle 了 le is not used. As you may have remembered, the complement of degree construction is used to describe habitual actions, such as “he runs very fast” and “she eats slowly”. It is mentioned in points 4 and 5 of this section that the aspect particle 了 le is not used when describing a regular action in the past. Although the complement of degree construction can also be used to describe the result or the outcome of a particular (one off) action, the aspect particle 了 le is not used. The following sentence describes a past habitual action without using the particle 了 le. The following sentence describes the regular action of studying in the past without using the particle 了 le .
去 年 他 学 中 文 学 得 很 好
qùnián tā xué zhōngwén xué de hěnhăo
He studied Chinese very well last year.
The following sentence describes the outcome of a particular action, cooking in the past, without using the aspect particle 了 le .
昨 天 晚 上 他 做 饭 作 得 很 好
zuótiān wănshàng tā zuòfàn zuò dehěnhăo
He cooked a lot last night.
8. If a sentence describes a sequence of completed actions, the aspect particle 了 le is placed after the last verb in the sequence, but in a negative sentence, the negation 没 méi is placed before the first verb. For instance,
昨 天 我 去 大 学 书 店 买 了 三 本 书
zuótiān wǒ qù dàxué shūdiàn măile sān běn shū
I went to the university bookshop and bought three books yesterday.
昨 天 我 没 去 大 学 书 店 买 书
zuótiān wǒ méiqù dàxué shūdiàn măi shū
I didn’t go to the university bookshop to buy books yesterday.
If one of the actions in a sequence is completed and the other is not, they should be treated separately as indicated below.
我 去了 大学 书 店,可是 没 买 书
wǒ qùle dàxué shūdiàn, kěshì méimăishū
Yesterday I went to the university bookshop, but I didn’t buy books.
If you have any questions about the above explanation, please click here to ask.
Translate the following sentences into Chinese (the aspect for the completion of actions)
Yesterday I went to the shop and bought three Chinese maps.
I went to your place yesterday, but (但是) you were not at home.
I was at home yesterday afternoon.
The grammar teacher who lives next to the library had three Chinese cars last year.
I was learning French at the language college four months ago.
I haven’t learned the new characters in lesson fifteen.
I ate in restaurants everyday when I was in China last May.
I wanted to go to France last month.
Did you introduce Gubo to Mr Wang this morning?
In the past I often smoked in the classroom when there was no one there.
I liked drinking coffee in the morning last year.
Yesterday evening I went to the dormitory to see Ding Yun.
Frequently asked questions
Click on the following links to view the answers
Is it incorrect if I place 了 after the verb in a simple-object sentence?
Can I place 了 at the end of a sentence that has a complex object?
Do I have to put the time-measures before 没 in all negative sentences?
Do I have to put 了 after every verb in a sentence, if the sentence has a sequence of actions?
Do I always have to place 了 after the last verb of a sentence when describing a sequence of actions?
Apart from the negation, are there any circumstances in which 了 is not used?
Is it true that if I use a time-word I don't have to use 了 ?
Are there any constructions that cannot take an aspectual particle 了 ?
Do I always have to consider the use of 了 when I see a past tense in an English sentence?