eric
/
ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
							123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140141142143144145146
							<!DOCTYPE html>
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta name="generator" content=
"HTML Tidy for HTML5 for Linux version 5.2.0" />
<title></title>
</head>
<body>
<p>了 (le) has many uses. You probably first learned 了 (le) as a
<a href="particle" class="uri" title="wikilink">particle</a> that
tells you <a href="expressing_completion_with_&quot;le&quot;"
title="wikilink">an action is completed</a>, which is also known as
"了1." However, this article is not about that use of 了 (le);
instead, it is about indicating a <em>change of state</em> (了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 id="structure">Structure</h2>
<p>When used in this way, 了(le) is placed at the end of the
sentence to indicate a new situation.</p>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>[New Situation] + 了</p>
</div>
<h2 id="examples">Examples</h2>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>下 雨 <em>了</em>。<span class="expl pdf-simple-expl">It wasn't
raining, but now it is.</span><span class="pinyin">Xià yǔ
<em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">It's raining.</span></li>
<li>妈妈 老 <em>了</em>。<span class="expl">We aren't used to thinking
of her as old, but she is now.</span><span class="pinyin">Māma lǎo
<em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">Mom is old.</span></li>
<li>你 胖 <em>了</em>。<span class="expl pdf-simple-expl">You used to
not be fat.</span><span class="pinyin">Nǐ pàng
<em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">You've gotten
fat.</span></li>
<li>家里 没有 牛奶 <em>了</em>。<span class="expl pdf-simple-expl">We had
milk before.</span><span class="pinyin">Jiālǐ méiyǒu niúnǎi
<em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">We don't have any milk at
home.</span></li>
<li>爸爸 今年 50 岁 <em>了</em>。<span class="expl">Seems like just a year
ago he was only 49!</span><span class="pinyin">Bàba jīnnián wǔshí
suì <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">Dad is 50 years old this
year.</span></li>
<li>手机 没 电 <em>了</em>。<span class="expl pdf-simple-expl">It was
working fine until now.</span><span class="pinyin">Shǒujī méi diàn
<em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">The cell phone ran out of
power.</span></li>
<li>宝宝 会 说话 <em>了</em>。<span class="expl pdf-simple-expl">He
couldn't before.</span><span class="pinyin">Bǎobao huì shuōhuà
<em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">The baby can
speak.</span></li>
<li>你哥哥 有 女朋友 <em>了</em> 吗？<span class="expl pdf-simple-expl">He
didn't have one before.</span><span class="pinyin">Nǐ gēge yǒu
nǚpéngyou <em>le</em> ma?</span> <span class="trans">Does your
older brother have a girlfriend?</span></li>
<li>我 男朋友 找到 新 工作 <em>了</em>。<span class="expl pdf-simple-expl">A
big change for sure.</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ nánpéngyou
zhǎodào xīn gōngzuò <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">My
boyfriend found a new job.</span></li>
<li>你 老婆 怀孕 <em>了</em> 吗？<span class="expl">I know you guys have
been trying...</span><span class="pinyin">Nǐ lǎopo huáiyùn
<em>le</em> ma?</span> <span class="trans">Is your wife
pregnant?</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="too-general">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 了
(le).</p>
<p>Because it's a little vague and confusing, most learners find it
useful to break this "change of state" 了 (le) down into more
specific usages, such as using it to mean <a href=
"Expressing_&quot;now&quot;_with_&quot;le&quot;" title=
"wikilink">"now"</a>, <a href=
"Expressing_&quot;already&quot;_with_just_&quot;le&quot;" title=
"wikilink">"already"</a>, or <a href=
"Expressing_&quot;not_anymore&quot;_with_&quot;le&quot;" title=
"wikilink">"not anymore"</a>. Although these are all "flavors" of
the "change of state" 了 (le), identifying them as specific cases
can make it much easier to get used to using 了 (le) in this
way.</p>
<h2 id="see-also">See Also</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="Expressing_&quot;now&quot;_with_&quot;le&quot;" title=
"wikilink">Expressing "now" with "le"</a></li>
<li><a href="Expressing_&quot;already&quot;_with_&quot;le&quot;"
title="wikilink">Expressing "already" with "le"</a></li>
<li><a href=
"Expressing_&quot;not_anymore&quot;_with_&quot;le&quot;" title=
"wikilink">Expressing "not anymore" with "le"</a></li>
<li><a href="Uses_of_&quot;le&quot;" title="wikilink">Uses of
"le"</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further
reading</h2>
<h3 id="books">Books</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="Basic_Patterns_of_Chinese_Grammar" title=
"wikilink">Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar</a> (p. 68) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933330899/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399373&amp;creativeASIN=1933330899">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href="Chinese:_An_Essential_Grammar,_Second_Edition" title=
"wikilink">Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition</a> (pp.
126-9) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415372615/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=0415372615">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href="Mandarin_Chinese:_A_Functional_Reference_Grammar"
title="wikilink">Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference
Grammar</a> (pp. 238-99) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0520066103?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0520066103">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href=
"New_Practical_Chinese_Reader_2_(%E6%96%B0%E5%AE%9E%E7%94%A8%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%AF%BE%E6%9C%AC2)"
title="wikilink">New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2)</a> (pp.
217-8) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561911297/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=7561911297">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href=
"New_Practical_Chinese_Reader_3_(%E6%96%B0%E5%AE%9E%E7%94%A8%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%AF%BE%E6%9C%AC3)"
title="wikilink">New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3)</a> (pp.
64-5) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/756191251X/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=756191251X">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href="Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_2_(3rd_ed)" title=
"wikilink">Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed)</a> (p. 8)
<a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276709/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=0887276709">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href=
"40_Lessons_for_Basic_Chinese_Course_(%E5%9F%BA%E7%A1%80%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD40%E8%AF%BE%E4%B8%8A%E5%86%8C%EF%BC%89"
title="wikilink">40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course
(基础汉语40课上册）</a> (p. 239)<a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FTL8D8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B001FTL8D8&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=allset-20">→buy</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="websites">Websites</h3>
<ul>
<li>Chinesegrammar.info: <a href=
"http://chinesegrammar.info/particles/le-grammar-summary/">Chinese
le grammar summary (了)</a></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="Category:_A2_grammar_points" title="wikilink">Category:
A2 grammar points</a></p>
</body>
</html>