Expressing completion with "le"

Also known as: 了1, verb 了, completed action 了 and perfective aspect 了.

The particle 了 (le) has a lot of uses. One of the most common is to express the completion of an action. This is called aspect, which is not the same as tense. Tense is about when an action happens: past, present or future. Aspect is about whether the action is complete in a certain time frame.

Structure

To indicate completion, 了 can go before or after the object. Both of these basic structures are possible (and correct):

Subj. + Verb + Obj. + 了

Subj. + Verb + 了 + Obj.

Examples

• 他 买 新 手机 了 。 Tā mǎi xīn shǒujī le.He bought a new cell phone.
• 我 找到 工作 了 。I found a job.
• 你 今天 早上 吃 了 什么 ？Nǐ jīntiān zǎoshang chī le shénme? What did you eat this morning?
• 上个月 我 去 了 台湾 。Shàng gè yuè wǒ qù le Táiwān.I went to Taiwan last month.
• 昨天 晚上 我 看见 UFO 了 。 Zuótiān wǎnshang wǒ kànjiàn UFO le.I saw a UFO last night.

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:

• 你 到 了 告诉 我 。future actionNǐ dào le gàosu wǒ.When you have arrived, tell me.
• 你 下班 了 给 我 打 电话 。future actionNǐ ​ le yǐhòu, gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà.After you get off work, give me a call.
• 你们 吃 了 饭 可以 玩 。future actionNǐmen chī le fàn kěyǐ wán.You can play after you eat.

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 completed, no matter what time frame we're talking about. This also means that this 了 (le) isn't used with habitual or continuous actions.

Note that 了 must go directly after the verb if the object is preceded by a number and measure word.

Verb + 了 + Number + Measure Word + Obj.

• 老师 问 了 五 个 问题 。Lǎoshī wèn le wǔ gè wèntí.The teacher asked five questions.
• 我 买 了 三 本 书 。Wǒ mǎi le sān běn shū.I bought three books.
• 我 喝 了 两杯 咖啡 。Wǒ hē le liǎng bēi kāfēi.I washed five pieces of clothes.

See also

• Expressing experiences with verbs
• Uses of "le"
• Using "guo" with "le"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 65-8) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 57-9) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 137-9, 208) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 11-4) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar (pp. 185-217) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1) (pp. 199-200) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed) (pp. 226-8) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2) (pp. 16-8) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (pp. 156-7) [ →buy]

Websites

• Yale: The Perfective –Le了 Versus The Modal Particle Le了