Difference between revisions of "Change of state with "le""

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* 下 雨 <em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">Xià yǔ <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">It's raining.</span>
 
* 下 雨 <em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">Xià yǔ <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">It's raining.</span>
* 妈妈 老 <em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">Māma lǎo <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">Mom is old.</span>
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* 妈妈 老 <em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">Māma lǎo <em>le</em>. </span><span class="trans">Mom is old. </span>
* 你 胖 <em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">Nǐ pàng <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">You've gotten fat. </span>
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* 你 胖 <em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">Nǐ pàng <em>le</em>. </span><span class="trans">You've gotten fat. </span>
* 家里 没有 牛奶 <em>了</em>。<span class="expl">(We had milk before)</span><span class="pinyin">Jiālǐ méiyǒu niúnǎi <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">We don‘t have any milk at home.</span>
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* 家里 没有 牛奶 <em>了</em>。<span class="expl">(We had milk before)</span><span class="pinyin">Jiālǐ méiyǒu niúnǎi <em>le</em>. </span><span class="trans">We don‘t have any milk at home. </span>
* 爸爸 今年 50 岁 <em>了</em>。 <span class="pinyin">Bàba jīnnián wǔshí suì <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">Dad is 25 years old this year.</span>
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* 爸爸 今年 50 岁 <em>了</em>。 <span class="pinyin">Bàba jīnnián wǔshí suì <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">Dad is 25 years old this year. </span>
* 手机 没电 <em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">Shǒujī méidiàn <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">The phone is power off.</span>
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* 手机 没电 <em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">Shǒujī méidiàn <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">The phone ran out of power. </span>
* 宝宝 会 说话 <em>了</em>。 <span class="expl">(He couldn't before)</span><span class="pinyin">Bǎobao huì shuōhuà <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">The baby can speak.</span>
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* 宝宝 会 说话 <em>了</em>。<span class="expl">(He couldn't before)</span><span class="pinyin">Bǎobao huì shuōhuà <em>le</em>. </span><span class="trans">The baby can speak. </span>
* 你哥哥 有 女朋友 <em>了</em> 吗? <span class="expl">(He didn't have one before)</span><span class="pinyin">Nǐ gēge yǒu nǚpéngyou <em>le</em> ma?</span><span class="trans">Does your elder brother have a girlfriend?</span>
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* 你哥哥 有 女朋友 <em>了</em> 吗?<span class="expl">(He didn't have one before)</span><span class="pinyin">Nǐ gēge yǒu nǚpéngyou <em>le</em> ma? </span><span class="trans">Does your elder brother have a girlfriend? </span>
* 我 男朋友 找到 新 工作 <em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ nánpéngyou zhǎo dào xīn gōngzuò <em>le</em>. </span><span class="trans">My boyfriend finds a  new job.</span>
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* 我 男朋友 找到 新 工作 <em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ nánpéngyou zhǎo dào xīn gōngzuò <em>le</em>. </span><span class="trans">My boyfriend finds a  new job. </span>
*  你老婆 怀孕 <em>了</em> 吗?<span class="pinyin">Nǐlǎopo huáiyùn <em>le</em> ma?</span><span class="trans">Is your wife pregnant?</span>
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*  你老婆 怀孕 <em>了</em> 吗?<span class="pinyin">Nǐlǎopo huáiyùn <em>le</em> ma? </span><span class="trans">Is your wife pregnant? </span>
  
 
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Revision as of 07:59, 12 November 2015

Chinese-grammar-wiki-le.jpg
Also known as: 了2, change-of-state 了, sentence 了 and modal 了.

了 (le) has many uses. You probably first learned 了 (le) as a particle that tells you an action is completed, which is also known as "了1." However, this article is not about that use of 了 (le); instead, it is about indicating a change of state (了2). In other words, there is now a new situation, or there is about to be a new situation. This whole "change of state" idea can take numerous forms, and this page includes some helpful examples.

Structure

When used in this way, 了(le) is placed at the end of the sentence to show that the whole statement describes a new situation.

[New Situation] + 了

Examples

  • 下 雨 Xià yǔ le.It's raining.
  • 妈妈 老 Māma lǎo le. Mom is old.
  • 你 胖 Nǐ pàng le. You've gotten fat.
  • 家里 没有 牛奶 (We had milk before)Jiālǐ méiyǒu niúnǎi le. We don‘t have any milk at home.
  • 爸爸 今年 50 岁 Bàba jīnnián wǔshí suì le.Dad is 25 years old this year.
  • 手机 没电 Shǒujī méidiàn le.The phone ran out of power.
  • 宝宝 会 说话 (He couldn't before)Bǎobao huì shuōhuà le. The baby can speak.
  • 你哥哥 有 女朋友 吗?(He didn't have one before)Nǐ gēge yǒu nǚpéngyou le ma? Does your elder brother have a girlfriend?
  • 我 男朋友 找到 新 工作 Wǒ nánpéngyou zhǎo dào xīn gōngzuò le. My boyfriend finds a new job.
  • 你老婆 怀孕 吗?Nǐlǎopo huáiyùn le ma? Is your wife pregnant?

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites