Difference between revisions of "Expressing "already" with "dou… le""

Revision as of 04:06, 25 April 2017

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Level

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Level
Level
Similar to
Similar to
- Expressing "already" with "yijing" (HSK2)
- Expressing "already" with just "le" (HSK2)
- Expressing duration of inaction (HSK3)
Used for
Keywords

都⋯⋯ 了 (dōu... le) is used to express that something has already happened, similar to "已经⋯⋯ 了." However it is used more emphatically, implying that the speaker holds some sort of attitude in relation to the event, and is not merely objectively stating the facts, as with "已经⋯⋯ 了." The two options can actually also be combined in the pattern "都已经⋯⋯ 了." Here the meaning is the same as "都⋯⋯ 了."

Structure

都 + Verb / Adj. / Quantity + 了

Examples

你都快三十了，还不结婚？Nǐ dōu kuài sānshí le, hái bù jiéhūn?You're almost 30, and you still aren't married?
现在都二十一世纪了，你怎么还这么想？Xiànzài dōu èr shí yī shìjì le, nǐ zěnme hái zhème xiǎng?It's already the 21st century, can you believe that?
都九点了，快起床吧！Dōu jiǔ diǎn le, kuài qǐchuáng ba!It's already nine o'clock. Get out of bed!
他都到了，你不能不见他。Tā dōu dào le, nǐ bùnéng bùjiàn tā.He's already arrived. You've got to see him.
饭都凉了，他怎么还不回来？Fàn dōu liáng le, tā zěnme hái bù huílái?The food is cold already. Why hasn't he come back yet?
牛奶都坏了，你怎么还不把它扔掉？Niúnǎi dōu huài le, nǐ zěnme hái bù bǎ tā rēng diào?The milk's gone bad, why haven't you thrown it away?
他都道歉了，你还不能原谅他吗！Tā dōu dàoqiàn le, nǐ hái bùnéng yuánliàng tā ma!He's made an apology. Are you not going to forgive him？

Sources and further reading

Books

Dictionaries

现代汉语词典（第5版） (p. 329 ) →buy

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 {{Grammar Box}}
-都⋯⋯ 了 (dōu... le) is used to express that something has already happened, similar to "[["Already" with "yijing"|已经⋯⋯ 了]]." However it is used more emphatically, implying that the speaker holds some sort of attitude in relation to the event, and is not merely objectively stating the facts, as with "已经⋯⋯ 了." The two options can actually also be combined in the pattern "都已经⋯⋯ 了." Here the meaning is the same as "都⋯⋯ 了".
+都⋯⋯ 了 (dōu... le) is used to express that something has already happened, similar to "[["Already" with "yijing"|已经⋯⋯ 了]]." However it is used more emphatically, implying that the speaker holds some sort of attitude in relation to the event, and is not merely objectively stating the facts, as with "已经⋯⋯ 了." The two options can actually also be combined in the pattern "都已经⋯⋯ 了." Here the meaning is the same as "都⋯⋯ 了."
 ==Structure==