Difference between revisions of "Expressing "not anymore" with "le""

Revision as of 04:28, 4 February 2017

Level

A2 / HSK1
Level

A2
Level

HSK1
Similar to
Similar to
Used for

Referring to changes of situation
Keywords

了

In a negative sentence, the sentence-final 了 (le) can take on the meaning of "(not) anymore" or "no longer." The word 已经 (yǐjīng), which means "already," may nor may not accompany it.

Structure

已经 (yǐjīng) is optional for this pattern, but either 不 (bù) or 没有 (méiyǒu) will be needed to make the verb negative. The sentence-final 了 (le) is, of course, essential.

(已经 +) 不 / 没(有) + [Verb Phrase] + 了

Examples

没有纸了。in other words, "we're out of paper"Méiyǒu zhǐ le. There's no paper anymore.
手机没有电了。Shǒujī méiyǒu diàn le. My cell phone has run out of power.
他没有家了。Tā méiyǒu jiā le. He doesn't have his home anymore.
我们都没有钱了。Wǒmen dōu méiyǒu qián le. We all don't have any more money.
你不喜欢我了吗？Nǐ bù xǐhuan wǒ le ma? You don't like me anymore?
我不想吃了。Wǒ bù xiǎng chī le. I don't want to eat anymore.
你们不能喝了。Nǐmen bù néng hē le. You can't drink anymore.
我 已经不 住这里了。Wǒ yǐjīng bù zhù zhèlǐ le. I don't live here anymore.
他 已经不 在这儿工作了。Tā yǐjīng bù zài zhèr gōngzuò le. He doesn't work here anymore.
他们 已经不 在一起了。Tāmen yǐjīng bù zài yīqǐ le. They are no longer together.

Sources and further reading

Books

Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (p. 68) →buy
Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 126-9) →buy
Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar (pp. 238-99) →buy
New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2) (pp. 217-8) →buy
New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp. 64-5) →buy
Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (p. 8) →buy
40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (p. 239)→buy

Websites

Chinesegrammar.info: Chinese le grammar summary (了)

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 *<em>没有</em> 纸 <em>了</em> 。<span class="expl">in other words, "we're out of paper"</span><span class="pinyin"><em>Méiyǒu</em> zhǐ <em>le</em>.</span> <span class="trans">There's no paper anymore.</span>
-*手机 <em>没有</em> 电 <em>了</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Shǒujī <em>méiyǒu</em> diàn <em>le</em>.</span> <span class="trans">My cellphone has run out of power.</span>
+*手机 <em>没有</em> 电 <em>了</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Shǒujī <em>méiyǒu</em> diàn <em>le</em>.</span> <span class="trans">My cell phone has run out of power.</span>
 *他 <em>没有</em> 家 <em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">Tā <em>méiyǒu</em> jiā <em>le</em>.</span> <span class="trans">He doesn't have his home anymore. </span>
 *我们 都 <em>没有</em> 钱 <em>了</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen dōu <em>méiyǒu</em> qián <em>le</em>.</span> <span class="trans">We all don't have any more money.</span>