eric
/
ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
							123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139
							<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html>

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:epub="http://www.idpf.org/2007/ops">
<head>
  <title>Change of state with le (new version)</title>
  <link href="../Styles/main.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/>
</head>

<body>
  <h1>Change of state with "<span class="pinyin">le</span>" <span class="hanzist">了</span> (new version)</h1>

  <p><span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>) has many uses. You probably first learned <span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>) as a particle that tells you an action is completed, which is also known as "<span class="hanzi">了</span>1." However, this article is not about that use of 了 (<span class="pinyin">le</span>); instead, it is about indicating a change of state (<span class="hanzi">了</span>2). In other words, there is now a new situation, or there is about to be a new situation. This whole "change of state" idea can take numerous forms, and this page includes some helpful examples.</p>

  <h2>Used with Adjectives</h2>

  When an adjective indicates a change to the subject, <span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>) is placed at the end of the sentence to indicate a change of state.

  

  

  

  <h3>Structure</h3>

  <div class="deux">
    Subj. + Adj. + <span class="hanzist">了</span>
  </div>

  <h3>Examples</h3>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">我 饿 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ è le.</span> <br/>I'm hungry. <br/></li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">孩子们 都 累 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 。</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">Háizi men dōu lèi le.</span><br/> The kids are all tired.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">妈妈 老 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 。</span><br/><span class="vert">We aren't used to thinking of her as old, but she is now.</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">Māma lǎo le.</span> <br/>Mom has gotten old.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你 胖 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 。</span><br/><span class="vert">You used to not be fat.</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">Nǐ pàng le.</span> <br/>You've gotten fat.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你 是不是 生气 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> ？</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Nǐ shì bu shì shēngqì le?</span><br/> Are you mad?<br/></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2>Used with Verbs</h2>

  <p>When following a verb or verb phrase, the <span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>) indicates a change in an overall situation. For these sentences, sometimes you can translate this <span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>) as "now."</p>

  <h3>Structure</h3>

  <div class="deux">
    Subj. + Verb + <span class="hanzist">了</span>
  </div>

  <h3>Examples</h3>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">下雨 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 。</span><br/><span class="vert">It wasn't raining, but now it is.</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">Xià yǔ <span class="fondjaune">le</span>.</span><br/> It's raining.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">宝宝 会 说话 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 。</span><br/><span class="vert">He couldn't before.</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">Bǎobao huì shuōhuà <span class="fondjaune">le</span>.</span><br/> The baby can speak now.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">他 当 经理 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 。</span><br/><span class="vert">He wasn't a manager before.</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">Tā dāng jīnglǐ <span class="fondjaune">le</span> </span> <br/>He became a manager.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你 有 女朋友 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> ？</span><br/><span class="vert">He didn't have one before.</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">Nǐ yǒu nǚpéngyou <span class="fondjaune">le</span>?</span><br/> You have a girlfriend now?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我 男朋友 找到 新 工作 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 。</span><br/><span class="vert">A big change for sure.</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ nánpéngyou zhǎodào xīn gōngzuò <span class="fondjaune">le</span> </span> <br/>My boyfriend has found a new job.<br/></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2>Change of Situation in the Negative</h2>

  <p>When you take the same "change of situation" pattern and put a <span class="hanzi">不</span> (<span class="pinyin">bù</span>) before the verb, you're indicating that something already decided has changed. What had once been green-lit is now getting a red light. What was once "on" is now "off." The "change of situation" indicated by <span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>) is still the same, although the change is often simply mental: it's a change of plans, or a change of intent.</p>

  <h3>Structure</h3>

  <div class="deux">
    Subj. + <span class="hanzist">不</span> + Verb + <span class="hanzist">了</span>
  </div>

  <h3>Examples</h3>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">我 <span class="fondvert">不</span> 买 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 。</span><br/><span class="vert">I had previously decided to buy it.</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ <span class="fondvert">bù</span> mǎi <span class="fondjaune">le</span> </span> <br/>I'm not buying it now.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我 <span class="fondvert">不</span> 回家 吃 晚饭 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 。</span><br/><span class="vert">I had previously decided to go home for dinner.</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <span class="fondvert">bù</span> huí jiā chī wǎnfàn <span class="fondjaune">le</span>.</span><br/> I'm not going to go home for dinner tonight.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我 <span class="fondvert">不</span> 去 看电影 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 。</span><br/><span class="vert">I had said I was going.</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ bù qù kàn diànyǐng <span class="fondjaune">le</span>.</span><br/> I decided not to go to the movies.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我 <span class="fondvert">不</span> 结婚 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 。</span><br/><span class="vert">I had previously planned to get married.</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ <span class="fondvert">bù</span> jiéhūn <span class="fondjaune">le</span>.</span><br/> I'm not getting married.<br/></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <p>This pattern is somewhat similar to expressing "not anymore" with "<span class="pinyin">le</span>".</p>

  <h2>Too General?</h2>

  <p>The whole "change of state" concept might seem very general, and it is. It's vague, and it also takes some getting used to. You should expect it to take a while to get used to this use of <span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>).</p>

  <p>Because it's a little vague and confusing, most learners find it useful to break this "change of state" <span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>) down into more specific usages, such as using it to mean "now", "already", or "not anymore". Although these are all "flavors" of the "change of state" <span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>), identifying them as specific cases can make it much easier to get used to using <span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>) in this way.</p>

  <h2>See also</h2>

  <div class="See-also">
    <ul>
      <li>Expressing "now" with "<span class="pinyin">le</span>"</li>

      <li>Expressing "already" with "<span class="pinyin">le</span>"</li>

      <li>Expressing "not anymore" with "<span class="pinyin">le</span>" Uses of "le"<br/></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2>Sources and further reading</h2>

  <h3>Books</h3>

  <div class="See-also">
    <ul>
      <li>HSK Standard Course 3 (pp. 40) →buy</li>

      <li>Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 68) →buy</li>

      <li>Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 126-9) →buy</li>

      <li>Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar (pp. 238-99) →buy</li>

      <li>New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (<span class="hanzi">新实用汉语课本</span>2) (pp. 217-8) →buy</li>

      <li>New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (<span class="hanzi">新实用汉语课本</span>3) (pp. 64-5) →buy Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 8) →buy</li>

      <li>40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (<span class="hanzi">基础汉语40课上册</span>） (pp. 239) →buy<br/></li>
    </ul>
  </div>
</body>
</html>