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ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
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<p>The particle 了 (le) has a <a href="Uses_of_&quot;le&quot;"
title="wikilink">lot of uses</a>. One of the most common is to
express the completion of an action. This is called <a href=
"Aspect" title="wikilink">aspect</a>, which is not the same as
tense. Tense is about <em>when an action happens</em>: past,
present or future. Aspect is about <em>whether the action is
complete</em> in a certain time frame.</p>
<h2 id="basic-pattern">Basic Pattern</h2>
<p>To indicate completeness with 了 (le), the structure is:</p>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>Subj. + Verb + 了 + Obj.</p>
</div>
<p>Notice that 了 (le) goes directly after the verb. This 了 (le) is
called <strong>verb 了 (le)</strong> or <strong>了1</strong>.</p>
<h2 id="examples">Examples</h2>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>你 今天 早上 吃 <em>了</em> 什么？ <span class="pinyin">Nǐ jīntiān
zǎoshang chī <em>le</em> shénme?</span> <span class="trans">What
did you eat this morning?</span></li>
<li>他 买 <em>了</em> 一个 新 手机。 <span class="pinyin">Tā mǎi <em>le</em>
yī gè xīn shǒujī.</span><span class="trans">He bought a new cell
phone.</span></li>
<li>昨天 晚上 我 看见 <em>了</em> UFO。 <span class="pinyin">Zuótiān
wǎnshang wǒ kànjiàn <em>le</em> UFO.</span><span class="trans">I
saw a UFO last night.</span></li>
<li>我 学 <em>了</em> 两 年 中文。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ xué <em>le</em>
liǎng nián Zhōngwén.</span> <span class="trans">I studied Chinese
for two years.</span></li>
<li>今年 夏天 我 跟 我 男朋友 去 <em>了</em> 台湾。 <span class="pinyin">Jīnnián
xiàtiān wǒ gēn wǒ nánpéngyou qù <em>le</em>
Táiwān.</span><span class="trans">I went to Taiwan with my
boyfriend this summer.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>The examples above indicate a completed action, but they might
also seem very similar to a "past tense" in English. To illustrate
that 了 (le) can also indicate that one action is completed before
another, see the following examples:</p>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>你 到 <em>了</em> 告诉 我。<span class="expl pdf-simple-expl">future
action</span><span class="pinyin">Nǐ dào <em>le</em> gàosu
wǒ.</span><span class="trans">When you have arrived, tell
me.</span></li>
<li>老板 走 <em>了</em> 以后， 你们 可以 走。 <span class=
"expl pdf-simple-expl">future action</span><span class=
"pinyin">Lǎobǎn zǒu <em>le</em> yǐhòu, nǐmen kěyǐ
zǒu.</span><span class="trans">After the boss has left, you may
leave.</span></li>
<li>你 找到 <em>了</em> 以后 ， 给 我 打 电话。<span class=
"expl pdf-simple-expl">future action</span><span class="pinyin">Nǐ
zhǎodào <em>le</em> yǐhòu, gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà.</span><span class=
"trans">After you have found it, give me a call.</span></li>
<li>你们 吃 <em>了</em> 饭 以后 ， 可以 出去 。 <span class=
"expl pdf-simple-expl">future action</span><span class=
"pinyin">Nǐmen chī <em>le</em> fàn yǐhòu, kěyǐ
chūqù.</span><span class="trans">After you have eaten your food,
you can go out.</span></li>
<li>下 <em>了</em> 课 以后 ，我 要 问 老师 一些 问题。<span class=
"expl pdf-simple-expl">future action</span><span class="pinyin">Xià
<em>le</em> kè yǐhòu, wǒ yào wèn lǎoshī yīxiē
wèntí.</span><span class="trans">After class is over, I need to ask
the teacher a few questions.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>As you can see, 了 (le) can appear in sentences about the future
as well as the past. What's important is whether or not the action
has been <em>completed</em>, no matter what time frame we're
talking about. This also means that this 了 (le) isn't used with
habitual or continuous actions.</p>
<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="Expressing_experiences_with_verbs" title=
"wikilink">Expressing experiences with verbs</a></li>
<li><a href="Uses_of_&quot;le&quot;" title="wikilink">Uses of
"le"</a></li>
<li><a href="Using_&quot;guo&quot;_with_&quot;le&quot;" title=
"wikilink">Using "guo" with "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> (pp. 65-8)
<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.
57-9) <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="Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_1_(3rd_ed)" title=
"wikilink">Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)</a> (pp.
137-9, 208) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276385/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=0887276385">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href="Integrated_Chinese:_Level_2,_Part_1" title=
"wikilink">Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1</a> (pp. 11-4)
<a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276792/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=0887276792">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href="Mandarin_Chinese:_A_Functional_Reference_Grammar"
title="wikilink">Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference
Grammar</a> (pp. 185-217) <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_1_(%E6%96%B0%E5%AE%9E%E7%94%A8%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%AF%BE%E6%9C%AC1)"
title="wikilink">New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)</a> (pp.
199-200) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561910401/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=7561910401">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href=
"New_Practical_Chinese_Reader_1_(%E6%96%B0%E5%AE%9E%E7%94%A8%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%AF%BE%E6%9C%AC1)(2nd_ed)"
title="wikilink">New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd
ed)</a> (pp. 226-8) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561926235/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399373&amp;creativeASIN=7561926235">
→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.
16-8) <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=
"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> (pp. 156-7)<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>Yale: <a href=
"http://comet.cls.yale.edu/mandarin/content/Lele/grammar/Lele.htm">The
Perfective –Le了 Versus The Modal Particle Le了</a></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="Category:A2_grammar_points" title=
"wikilink">Category:A2 grammar points</a></p>
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