Difference between revisions of "Expressing completion with "le""
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Here is where things start to get slightly more complicated. If the verb has an object, 了 (le) can go directly after the verb to indicate completion, but there are a few other conditions that should be met. | Here is where things start to get slightly more complicated. If the verb has an object, 了 (le) can go directly after the verb to indicate completion, but there are a few other conditions that should be met. | ||
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=== When Time is Specified === | === When Time is Specified === | ||
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It's a good idea to specify the time anyway, if you're still getting used to Chinese verbs not indicating tenses by themselves. When you do this, it's generally OK to put the 了 (le) right after the verb and before the object. | It's a good idea to specify the time anyway, if you're still getting used to Chinese verbs not indicating tenses by themselves. When you do this, it's generally OK to put the 了 (le) right after the verb and before the object. | ||
| − | ==== Structure === | + | ==== Structure ==== |
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=== When the Object's Quantity is Specified === | === When the Object's Quantity is Specified === | ||
| − | + | This pattern works if the sentence includes more information about the object, such as how many there are, or some additional adjectives describing the object. (The object can't be "bare," or unmodified.) | |
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Revision as of 02:51, 16 May 2018
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Level
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Similar to
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Used for
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Keywords
- 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. With regards to 了 (le), aspect is about whether the action is complete in a certain time frame.
Contents
Most Basic Pattern
The simplest way to use 了 (le) is to just put it after a verb. When there's nothing else after the verb, there are no complications!
Structure
Subj. + Verb + 了
Examples
- 他们 到 了 。They have arrived.
- 我 买 了 。I've bought it.
- 我们 都 去 了 。We all went.
- 我 找到 了 ！I found it!
Putting 了 After a Verb with an Object
Here is where things start to get slightly more complicated. If the verb has an object, 了 (le) can go directly after the verb to indicate completion, but there are a few other conditions that should be met.
When Time is Specified
It's a good idea to specify the time anyway, if you're still getting used to Chinese verbs not indicating tenses by themselves. When you do this, it's generally OK to put the 了 (le) right after the verb and before the object.
Structure
Subj. + Time + Verb + 了 + Obj.
Time + Subj. + Verb + 了 + Obj.
Examples
- 我 今天 吃 了 早饭 。This morning I ate breakfast.
- 她 上个 月 去 了 北京 。Last month she went to Beijing.
- 中午 我 见 了 朋友 。At noon I met a friend.
When the Object's Quantity is Specified
This pattern works if the sentence includes more information about the object, such as how many there are, or some additional adjectives describing the object. (The object can't be "bare," or unmodified.)
Structure
Subj. + Time + Verb + 了 + Obj.
Examples
- 老师 问 了 五 个 问题 。The teacher asked five questions.
- 我 买 了 三 本 书 。I bought three books.
- 我 喝 了 两 杯 咖啡 。I drank two cups of coffee.
Verb + Obj. + 了 Structure
So what if you don't want to add in lots of information describing the object? In this case, the 了 (le) can simply go after the object. You might think of it as the 了 (le) indicating completion "wanting to stay close to the verb."
Subj. + Verb + Obj. + 了
Verb + Obj. + 了 Examples
- 上个月 我 去 台湾 了 。I went to Taiwan last month.
- 昨天 晚上 我 看见 UFO 了 。 I saw a UFO last night.
Putting 了 After Consecutive Actions
To keep things simple, we'll make the first action "coming" or "going" somewhere, which will be followed by another action. So we'll be using 来 (lái) or 去 (qù) plus a place in each sentence. For this type of "consecutive action," 了 (le) should be placed after the second verb (or verb phrase), which marks the completion of the entire sequence.
Structure
Subj. + 来 / 去 + Place + Verb / [Verb Phrase] + 了
Examples
- 昨天 她 来 我 家 吃饭 了 。She came to my place and ate dinner yesterday.
- 我们 上周 去 北京 开会 了 。We went to Beijing and had a meeting there last week.
- 我 和 朋友 去 商场 买 衣服 了 。I went to the mall with my friend and bought some clothes.
Completion in the Future
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 in the future, see the following examples:
Some examples:
- 我 下课 了 以后 去 找 你 。future actionI will go find you after I finish class.
- 你 下班 了 以后 给 我 打 电话 。future actionAfter you get off work, give me a call.
- 你 到 了 以后 告诉 我 。future actionAfter you have arrived, tell me.
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.
See also
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]
