Expressing "not anymore" with "le"

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.

不 with Only 了

Structure

不 + [Verb Phrase] + 了

Note that without the 了 this pattern is still correct, but it no longer indicates a change.

Examples

• 我 不 想 吃 了 。Wǒ bù xiǎng chī le.I don't want to eat anymore.
• 你 不 喜欢 我 了 吗？Nǐ bù xǐhuan wǒ le ma?You don't like me anymore?
• 你们 不 能 打 了 。Nǐmen bù néng dǎ le.You can't fight anymore.

没有 with Only 了

Structure

没(有) + [Noun 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 电 了 。Shǒujī méi 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.

Adding 已经 for Emphasis

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, required.

Structure

已经 + 不 + [Verb Phrase] + 了

已经 + 没(有) + [Noun Phrase] + 了

Examples

• 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.
• 我们 已经 没有 钱 了 。Wǒmen yǐjīng méiyǒu qián le.We all don't have money anymore.

See also

• Expressing "already" with just "le"
• Change of state with "le"
• Uses of "le"

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)

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