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  <h1>Expressing completion with "<span class="pinyinst">le</span>" <span class="hanzist">了</span></h1>

  <p>The particle <span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>) has a lot of uses. One of the most common is to express the completion of an action. This is called aspect, which is not the same as tense. Tense is about when an action happens: past, present or future. With regards to <span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>), aspect is about whether the action is complete in a certain time frame.</p>

  <h2>Most Basic Pattern</h2>

  <p>The simplest way to use <span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>) is to just put it after a verb. When there's nothing else after the verb, there are no complications!</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">他们 到 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 。</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">Tāmen dào <span class="fondjaune">le</span> </span> <br/> They have arrived.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我 买 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 。</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">Wǒ mǎi <span class="fondjaune">le</span> </span> <br/> I've bought it.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我们 都 去 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 。</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">Wǒmen dōu qù <span class="fondjaune">le</span> </span> <br/> We all went.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我 找到 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> ！</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">Wǒ zhǎodào <span class="fondjaune">le</span> </span> <br/> I found it!<br/></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2>Putting <span class="hanzist">了</span> After a Verb with an Object</h2>

  <p>Here is where things start to get slightly more complicated. If the verb has an object, <span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>) can go directly after the verb to indicate completion, but there are a few other conditions that should be met.</p>

  <h3>When Time is Specified</h3>

  <p>It's a good idea to specify the time anyway, if you're still getting used to Chinese verbs not indicating tenses by themselves. When you do this, it's generally OK to put the <span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>) right after the verb and before the object.</p>

  <h3>Structure</h3>

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

  <p></p>

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

  <h3>Examples</h3>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">我 <span class="fondvert">今天</span> 吃 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 早饭 。</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <span class="fondvert">jīntiān</span> chī <span class="fondjaune">le</span> zǎofàn.</span> <br/> This morning I ate breakfast.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">她 <span class="fondvert">上个 月</span> 去 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 北京 。</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">Tā <span class="fondvert">shàng gè yuè</span> qù <span class="fondjaune">le</span> Běijīng.</span> <br/> Last month she went to Beijing.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi"><span class="fondvert">中午</span> 我 见 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 朋友 。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin"><span class="fondvert">Zhōngwǔ</span> wǒ jiàn <span class="fondjaune">le</span> péngyou.</span> <br/> At noon I met a friend.<br/></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h3>When the Object's Quantity is Specified</h3>

  <p>This pattern works if the sentence includes more information about the object, such as how many there are.</p>

  <h3>Structure</h3>

  <div class="deux">
    Subj. + Verb + <span class="hanzist">了</span> + [Number + Measure Word] + Obj.
  </div>

  <p>(Make sure you're clear on what a measure word is and how to use them.)</p>

  <h3>Examples</h3>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">老师 问 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> <span class="fondvert">五 个</span> 问题 。</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">Lǎoshī wèn <span class="fondjaune">le</span> <span class="fondvert">wǔ gè</span> wèntí.</span> <br/> The teacher asked five questions.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我 买 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> <span class="fondvert">三 本</span> 书 。</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">Wǒ mǎi <span class="fondjaune">le</span> <span class="fondvert">sān běn</span> shū.</span> <br/> I bought three books.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我 喝 <span class="fondjaune">了</span> <span class="fondvert">两 杯</span> 咖啡 。</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">Wǒ hē <span class="fondjaune">le</span> <span class="fondvert">liǎng bēi </span>kāfēi.</span> <br/> I drank two cups of coffee.<br/></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2>When <span class="hanzist">了</span> Comes After the Object</h2>

  <p>OK, so here's the tricky part. Even when indicating completion, the <span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>) can sometimes go after the object. This is not a topic that can be covered in depth at the elementary level, but you should be aware that this does happen too.</p>

  <h3>Structure</h3>

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

  <h3>Examples</h3>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">上个 月 我 去 <span class="fondvert">台湾</span> <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 。</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">Shàng gè yuè wǒ qù <span class="fondvert">Táiwān</span> <span class="fondjaune">le</span> </span> <br/> I went to Taiwan last month.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">昨天 晚上 我 看见 <span class="fondvert">UFO</span> <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 。</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">Zuótiān wǎnshang wǒ kànjiàn <span class="fondjaune">le</span> <span class="fondvert">UFO</span>.</span> <br/> I saw a UFO last night.<br/></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <p>If you're upper intermediate-ish and think you can "handle the truth," also check out our more advanced, full exposé on <span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>) after an object.</p>

  <h2>Putting <span class="hanzist">了</span> After Consecutive Actions</h2>

  <p>So what happens if a whole string of things happened in the past? Do you have to put a <span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>) after each one, just like we'd put each verb in the past tense in English? Good question! The short answer is that you only need one <span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>).</p>

  <p>To keep things simple, we'll make the first action "coming" or "going" somewhere, which will be followed by another action. So we'll be using <span class="hanzi">来</span> (<span class="pinyin">lái</span>) or <span class="hanzi">去</span> (<span class="pinyin">qù</span>) plus a place in each sentence, and then another action. For this type of "consecutive action," <span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>) should be placed after the final verb (or verb phrase), which marks the completion of the entire sequence.</p>

  <h3>Structure</h3>

  <div class="deux">
    Subj. + <span class="hanzist">来 / 去</span> + Place + Verb / [Verb Phrase] + <span class="hanzist">了</span>
  </div>

  <h3>Examples</h3>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">昨天 她 <span class="fondvert">来</span> 我 家 <span class="fondvert">吃饭</span> <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 。</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">Zuótiān tā <span class="fondvert">lái</span> wǒ jiā <span class="fondvert">chīfàn</span> <span class="fondjaune">le</span> </span> <br/> She came to my place and ate dinner yesterday.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我们 上周 <span class="fondvert">去</span> 北京 <span class="fondvert">开会</span> <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 。</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">Wǒmen shàng zhōu <span class="fondvert">qù</span> Běijīng <span class="fondvert">kāihuì</span> <span class="fondjaune">le</span>. </span><br/> We went to Beijing and had a meeting there last week.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我 和 朋友 <span class="fondvert">去</span> 商场 <span class="fondvert">买 衣服</span> <span class="fondjaune">了</span> 。</span> <br/> <span class="pinyin">Wǒ hé péngyou <span class="fondvert">qù</span> shāngchǎng <span class="fondvert">mǎi yīfu</span> <span class="fondjaune">le</span> </span> <br/> I went to the mall with my friend and bought some clothes.<br/></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2>Completion in the Future</h2>

  <p><span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>) can appear in sentences about the future as well as the past. What's important is whether or not the action has been completed, no matter what time frame we're talking about. This also means that this <span class="hanzi">了</span> (<span class="pinyin">le</span>) isn't used with habitual or continuous actions.</p>

  <h2>See also</h2>

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

      <li>Advanced "<span class="pinyin">le</span>" after an object</li>

      <li>Uses of "<span class="pinyin">le</span>"<br/></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2>Sources and further reading</h2>

  <h3>Books</h3>

  <div class="See-also">
    <ul>
      <li>HSK Standard Course 1 (pp. 106) →buy</li>

      <li>Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 65-8) →buy</li>

      <li>Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 57-9) →buy</li>

      <li>Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 137-9, 208) →buy</li>

      <li>Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 11-4) →buy</li>

      <li>Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar (pp. 185-217) →buy</li>

      <li>New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (<span class="hanzi">新实用汉语课本1</span>) (pp. 199-200) →buy</li>

      <li>New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (<span class="hanzi">新实用汉语课本1</span>)(2nd ed) (pp. 226-8) →buy</li>

      <li>New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (<span class="hanzi">新实用汉语课本2</span>) (pp. 16-8) →buy</li>

      <li>40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (<span class="hanzi">基础汉语40课上册</span>） (pp. 156-7) →buy<br/></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h3>Websites</h3>

  <div class="See-also">
    <ul>
      <li>Yale: The Perfective <span class="pinyin">–Le</span> <span class="hanzi">了</span> Versus The Modal Particle <span class="pinyin">Le</span> <span class="hanzi">了</span><br/></li>
    </ul>
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