Using "guo" with "le"

You might be familiar with using 过 (guo) to indicate that an action has been experienced in the past, but then also see it used together with 了 (le). What's going on here? A special explanation is in order.

The Basic Pattern

The typical pattern you'll see is:

Verb + 过 + 了

You'll notice that this pattern is often used for very everyday behaviors. It's used for actions like "eating" and "brushing one's teeth" and "taking a shower."

Some examples in Chinese:

• 她 吃 过 了。 Tā chī guò le ."She ate (already)."
• 牙 刷 过 了。 Yáshuā guò le ."(I) brushed my teeth (already)."
• 他 洗 过 了。 Tā xǐ guò le ."He has washed (already)."

The Pattern with an Object

For the examples above, you could have inserted an object to modify the basic pattern, getting this:

Verb + 过 + Object + 了

The object has been inserted in the sentences below:

• 她 吃 过 饭 了。 Tā chī guò fàn le ."She has eaten (a meal) (already)."
• 我 刷 过 牙 了。 Wǒ shuā guò yá le ."I have brushed my teeth (already)."
• 他 洗 过 澡 了。 Tā xǐ guò zǎo le ."He has had a shower (already)."

What the 过 does

You would be right to point out that 过 (guo) is mainly used to call attention to the fact that someone has had an experience. This is the basic pattern pointed out in the article on the basic usage of the aspectual particle 过 (guo). In the examples above, though, it's not any "once-in-a-lifetime" experiences being expressed, it's more just the information that these actions are done. Here, 过 (guo) and 了 (le) work together to emphasize that an action is already done. 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 already done 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:

• 她 已经 吃 过 饭 了。 Tā yǐjīng chī guò fàn le ."She has already eaten (a meal)."
• 我 已经 刷 过 牙 了。 Wǒ yǐjīng shuā guò yá le ."I have already brushed my teeth."
• 他 已经 洗 过 澡 了。 Tā yǐjīng xǐ guò zǎo le ."He has already had a shower ."

When to use 过 + 了

So when would you use the sentences above? You'd be emphasizing that the action has already occurred (so it doesn't need to be done again), so it would probably be something like this:

For the eating example:

• 她 想 吃 吗 ？ Tā xiǎng chī ma?"Does she want to eat?"
• 她 已经 吃 过 饭 了。 Tā yǐjīng chī guò fàn le ."She has already eaten (a meal)."

For the tooth brushing example:

• 别 忘记 刷牙。 Bié wàngjì shuāyá."Don't forget to brush your teeth."
• 我 已经 刷 过 牙 了。Wǒ yǐjīng shuā guò yá le . "I have already brushed my teeth."

For the taking a shower example:

• 他 应该 洗澡。 Tā yīnggāi xǐzǎo."He should take a shower."
• 他 已经 洗 过 澡 了。 Tā yǐjīng xǐ guò zǎo le ."He has already had a shower ."

See also

• Expressing experience with "guo"
• Expressing completion with "le"

Sources and further reading

Books

• A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法) (p. 138) →buy
• Chinese Grammar Without Tears (简明汉语语法学习手册) (pp. 73-74) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 345 - 347) →buy
• Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 76-77, 230-232) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2) (pp. 175 - 176) →buy

Websites

• ChinesePod: Qing Wen - 过(guo) (free podcast content)