Difference between revisions of "Expressing completion with le"

 
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#REDIRECT [[Expressing completion with "le"]]
 
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{{POS|Particles}}
{{AKA|verb 了|completed action 了|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 whatever time frame we're talking about.
 
 
 
To indicate completeness with 了, the structure is:
 
 
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
 
 
Subject + Verb + 了 + Object
 
 
 
</div>
 
 
 
Notice that 了 goes directly after the verb. This 了 is called '''verb 了'''.
 
 
 
Some examples:
 
 
 
<div class="liju">
 
 
 
* 上 个 星期五 我 喝 <em>了</em> 五 瓶 啤酒。
 
* 到 <em>了</em> 红绿灯 以后,往 左 拐。
 
* 明天 我 吃 <em>了</em> 晚饭 以后 就 跟 朋友 去 咖啡店。
 
 
 
</div>
 
 
 
As you can see, 了 can appear in sentences about the past present or future. What's important is whether or not the action has been ''completed'' whatever time we're talking about. This means that verb 了 can't be used with habitual or continuous actions.
 
 
 
==See also==
 
*[[Expressing experiences with verbs]]
 
*[[Uses of le]]
 
 
 
== Sources and further reading ==
 
 
 
=== Books ===
 
 
 
* [[Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar]] (pp. 65 - 68) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933330899/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1933330899 →buy]
 
* [[Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar]] (pp. 185 - 217) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0520066103?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0520066103 →buy]
 
* [[New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)]] (pp. 199 - 200) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561910401/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=7561910401 →buy]
 
* [[New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed)]] (pp. 226 - 228) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561926235/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=7561926235 →buy]
 
* [[New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2)]] (pp. 16 - 18) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561911297/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=7561911297 →buy]
 
 
 
=== Websites ===
 
 
 
* Yale: [http://comet.cls.yale.edu/mandarin/content/Lele/grammar/Lele.htm The Perfective –Le了 Versus The Modal Particle Le了]
 
* East Asia Student: [http://eastasiastudent.net/2630/china/mandarin/cmn-grammar/four-kinds-le/ 了 grammar: four kinds of 了 in Mandarin]
 
 
 
[[Category:A2 grammar points]]
 

Latest revision as of 05:52, 15 June 2012