Difference between revisions of "Uses of le"

Revision as of 13:42, 8 October 2011

The Chinese particle 了 has been traditionally divided into two broad categories: aspectual particle 了 (AKA 了1) and modal particle 了 (AKA 了2). However, for a word with as many varied grammatical uses, such broad classifications don't seem particularly helpful to learners. This article offers an alternative way to understand 了: by listing out specific uses and patterns.

Beginner (A1) Uses of 了

Grammar Point (English)	Pattern	了 Type	Examples
Expressing "Excessively"	太 + Adj + 了	了2	太好了 !

Elementary (A2) Uses of 了

Grammar Point (English)	Pattern	了 Type	Examples
Expressing Completion with "le"	V + 了	了1	她去了北京。
Questions with "le ma"	……了 + 吗？	了1	北京去了吗？
Expressing Duration	[Verb Phrase] + [Duration] (+ 了)	了2	他在北京住了两年。
Expressing Duration of Inaction	[Duration] + 没 + [Verb Phrase] ) (+ 了)	了2	他已经三天没洗澡了。

Intermediate (B1) Uses of 了

Grammar Point (English)	Pattern	了 Type	Examples
Expressing Completion with "le"	V + 了	了1	她去了北京。

Upper Intermediate (B2) Uses of 了

Grammar Point (English)	Pattern	了 Type	Examples
Expressing Completion with "le"	V + 了	了1	她去了北京。

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-! Grammar Point (English) !! 了 Type !! Pattern !! Examples
+! Grammar Point (English) !! Pattern !! 了 Type !! Examples
 |-
 |[[ASG8HVFN|Expressing "Excessively"]] || 太 + Adj + 了 || 了2 || <span class="liju"><em>太</em> 好 <em>了</em> ! </span>
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-! Grammar Point (English) !! 了 Type !! Pattern !! Examples
+! Grammar Point (English) !! Pattern !! 了 Type !! Examples
 |-
 |[[ASGTSWBR|Expressing Completion with "''le''"]] || V + 了 || 了1 || <span class="liju">她 去 <em>了</em> 北京。</span>
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 {| class="wikitable" style="width:50em; text-align:left"
 |-
-! Grammar Point (English) !! 了 Type !! Pattern !! Examples
+! Grammar Point (English) !! Pattern !! 了 Type !! Examples
 |-
 |[[ASGTSWBR|Expressing Completion with "''le''"]] || V + 了 || 了1 || <span class="liju">她 去 <em>了</em> 北京。</span>
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 {| class="wikitable" style="width:50em; text-align:left"
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-! Grammar Point (English) !! 了 Type !! Pattern !! Examples
+! Grammar Point (English) !! Pattern !! 了 Type !! Examples
 |-
 |[[ASGTSWBR|Expressing Completion with "''le''"]] || V + 了 || 了1 || <span class="liju">她 去 <em>了</em> 北京。</span>
 |-
 |}