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ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
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<p>You might be familiar with <a href=
"Expressing_experiences_with_&quot;guo&quot;" title=
"wikilink">using 过 (guo) to indicate that an <strong>action has
been experienced</strong> in the past</a>, but then also see it
used together with <a href=
"Expressing_completion_with_&quot;le&quot;" title="wikilink">了
(le)</a>. What's going on here? If you're already familiar with the
basic usage of both 了 (le) and 过 (guo), then a special explanation
of how they sometimes work together is now in order.</p>
<h2 id="basic-pattern">Basic Pattern</h2>
<h3 id="structure">Structure</h3>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>Verb + 过 + 了</p>
</div>
<p>You'll notice that this pattern is often used for everyday
behaviors. It's used for actions like "eating" and "brushing one's
teeth" and "taking a shower."</p>
<h3 id="examples">Examples</h3>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>她 吃 <em>过</em> <em>了</em>。 <span class="pinyin">Tā chī
<em>guo</em> <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">She has eaten
(already).</span></li>
<li>牙 刷 <em>过</em> <em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">Yá shuā
<em>guo</em> <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">I've brushed my
teeth (already).</span></li>
<li>洗 <em>过</em> <em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">Xǐ <em>guo</em>
<em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">I've showered
(already).</span></li>
<li>我们 看 <em>过</em> <em>了</em>。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒmen kàn
<em>guo</em> <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">We've seen it
(already).</span></li>
<li>他们 见 <em>过</em> <em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">Tāmen jiàn
<em>guo</em> <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">They've met
(already).</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="the-pattern-with-an-object">The Pattern with an Object</h2>
<p>For the examples above, you could have inserted an object to
modify the basic pattern, getting this:</p>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>Verb + 过 + Obj. + 了</p>
</div>
<p>The object has been inserted in the sentences below:</p>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>你 吃 <em>过</em> <strong>饭</strong> <em>了</em> 吗？<span class=
"pinyin">Nǐ chī <em>guo</em> <strong>fàn</strong> <em>le</em>
ma?</span> <span class="trans">Have you eaten
(already)?</span></li>
<li>我 刷 <em>过</em> <strong>牙</strong> <em>了</em>。 <span class=
"pinyin">Wǒ shuā <em>guo</em> <strong>yá</strong>
<em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">I have brushed my teeth
(already).</span></li>
<li>他 洗 <em>过</em> <strong>澡</strong> <em>了</em>。 <span class=
"pinyin">Tā xǐ <em>guo</em> <strong>zǎo</strong>
<em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">He has showered
(already).</span></li>
<li>我 给 他 打 <em>过</em> <strong>电话</strong> <em>了</em>。<span class=
"pinyin">Wǒ gěi tā dǎ <em>guo</em> <strong>diànhuà</strong>
<em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">I called him
(already).</span></li>
<li>客户 看 <em>过</em> <strong>合同</strong> <em>了</em> 吗？<span class=
"pinyin">Kèhù kàn <em>guo</em> <strong>hétong</strong> <em>le</em>
ma?</span> <span class="trans">Has the client read the contract
(already)?</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="what-过-guo-does">What 过 (guo) Does</h2>
<p>You would be right to point out that 过 (guo) is mainly used to
call attention to the fact that someone <em>has had an
<strong>experience.</strong></em> This is the basic pattern pointed
out in the article on the <a href=
"Expressing_experiences_with_&quot;guo&quot;" title=
"wikilink">basic usage of the aspectual particle 过</a> (guo). In
the examples above, though, it's not any "once-in-a-lifetime"
<em>experiences</em> being expressed, it's more just the
information that these actions are <em>done.</em> Here, 过 (guo) and
了 (le) work together to emphasize that an action is <em>already
done.</em> This is why the translations on the side add the word
"already" in parentheses at the end; this is the feeling the
sentences give you. In fact, to emphasize the idea of <em>already
done</em> even further, you could add the word for "already," 已经
(yǐjīng), before the verbs in the examples below, and it also works
just fine:</p>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>她 <strong>已经</strong> 吃 <em>过</em> 饭 <em>了</em>。 <span class=
"pinyin">Tā <strong>yǐjīng</strong> chī <em>guo</em> fàn
<em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">She has already eaten (a
meal).</span></li>
<li>我 <strong>已经</strong> 刷 <em>过</em> 牙 <em>了</em>。 <span class=
"pinyin">Wǒ <strong>yǐjīng</strong> shuā <em>guo</em> yá
<em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">I have already brushed my
teeth.</span></li>
<li>他 <strong>已经</strong> 洗 <em>过</em> 澡 <em>了</em>。 <span class=
"pinyin">Tā <strong>yǐjīng</strong> xǐ <em>guo</em> zǎo
<em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">He has already had a
shower.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="when-to-use-过-guo-with-了-le">When to Use 过 (guo) with 了
(le)</h2>
<p>So when would you use the sentences above? You'd be emphasizing
that the action has <em>already</em> occurred (so it doesn't need
to be done again), so it would probably be something like this:</p>
<p>For the eating example:</p>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li><span class="speaker">A:</span>她 想 吃饭 吗 ？ <span class=
"pinyin">Tā xiǎng chīfàn ma?</span><span class="trans">Does she
want to eat?</span></li>
<li><span class="speaker">B:</span>她 <strong>已经</strong> 吃
<em>过</em> 饭 <em>了</em>。 <span class="pinyin">Tā
<strong>yǐjīng</strong> chī <em>guo</em> fàn
<em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">She has already
eaten.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>For the tooth brushing example:</p>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li><span class="speaker">A:</span>别 忘记 刷牙。 <span class=
"pinyin">Bié wàngjì shuā yá.</span><span class="trans">Don't forget
to brush your teeth.</span></li>
<li><span class="speaker">B:</span>我 <strong>已经</strong> 刷
<em>过</em> 牙 <em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ
<strong>yǐjīng</strong> shuā <em>guo</em> yá
<em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">I have already brushed my
teeth.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>For the taking a shower example:</p>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li><span class="speaker">A:</span>他 应该 洗澡 。 <span class=
"pinyin">Tā yīnggāi xǐzǎo.</span><span class="trans">He should take
a shower.</span></li>
<li><span class="speaker">B:</span>他 <strong>已经</strong> 洗 <em>过
了</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">Tā <strong>yǐjīng</strong> xǐ <em>guo
le</em>.</span><span class="trans">He has already
showered.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="see-also">See Also</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="Expressing_experiences_with_&quot;guo&quot;" title=
"wikilink">Expressing experiences with "guo"</a></li>
<li><a href="Expressing_completion_with_&quot;le&quot;" title=
"wikilink">Expressing completion 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=
"A_Practical_Chinese_Grammar_For_Foreigners_(%E5%A4%96%E5%9B%BD%E4%BA%BA%E5%AE%9E%E7%94%A8%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%AF%AD%E6%B3%95)"
title="wikilink">A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners
(外国人实用汉语语法)</a> (p. 138) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp?_encoding=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-23&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;asin=B001J0ADWA&amp;camp=536&amp;creative=3132&amp;creativeASIN=B001J0ADWA">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href=
"Chinese_Grammar_Without_Tears_(%E7%AE%80%E6%98%8E%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%AF%AD%E6%B3%95%E5%AD%A6%E4%B9%A0%E6%89%8B%E5%86%8C)"
title="wikilink">Chinese Grammar Without Tears (简明汉语语法学习手册)</a>
(pp. 73-74) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-23&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;asin=B0041UGAJU&amp;camp=536&amp;creative=3132&amp;creativeASIN=B0041UGAJU">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href="Integrated_Chinese:_Level_2,_Part_1" title=
"wikilink">Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1</a> (pp. 345 - 347)
<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="Modern_Mandarin_Chinese_Grammar:_A_Practical_Guide"
title="wikilink">Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical
Guide</a> (pp. 76-77, 230-232) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415700108?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0415700108">
→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.
175 - 176) <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>
</ul>
<h3 id="websites">Websites</h3>
<ul>
<li>ChinesePod: <a href=
"http://chinesepod.com/lessons/%E8%BF%87guo">Qing Wen - 过(guo)</a>
(free podcast content)</li>
</ul>
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