Expressing completion with "le"

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.

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 。Tāmen dào le.They have arrived.
• 我 买 了 。Wǒ mǎi le.I've bought it.
• 我们 都 去 了 。Wǒmen dōu qù le.We all went.
• 我 找到 了 ！Wǒ zhǎodào le!I found it!

Putting 了 After a Verb with an Object

Verb + 了 + Obj. Structure

If the verb has an object, 了 (le) can go directly after the verb, but only when the object has a bit of extra information attached to it. 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.)

Subj. + Verb + 了 + [Information] + Obj.

Verb + 了 + Obj. Examples

• 老师 问 了 五 个 问题 。Lǎoshī wèn le wǔ gè wèntí.The teacher asked five questions.
• 我 买 了 三 本 书 。Wǒ mǎi le sān běn shū.I bought three books.
• 我 喝 了 两 杯 咖啡 。Wǒ hē le liǎng bēi kāfēi.I drank two cups of coffee.
• 他 买 了 新 手机 。 Tā mǎi le xīn shǒujī.He bought a new cell phone.
• 他 打 了 最 坏 的 人 。Tā dǎ le zuì huài de rén.He hit the worst guy.

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."

• 上个月 我 去 台湾 了 。Shàng gè yuè wǒ qù Táiwān le.I went to Taiwan last month.
• 昨天 晚上 我 看见 UFO 了 。 Zuótiān wǎnshang wǒ kànjiàn le UFO.I saw a UFO last night.

Note that 了 can also come after the object. For example:

• 他 买 新 手机 了 。Tā mǎi xīn xīn shǒujī le .He bought a new cell phone.
• 上个 月 我 去 台湾 了 。Shàng gè yuè wǒ qù Táiwān le.I went to Taiwan last month.

In these cases, the position of 了 (le) doesn't really matter.

Special Usage

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, see the following examples:

• 我 下课 了 以后 去 找 你 。future actionWǒ xiàkè le yǐhòu qù zhǎo nǐ .I will go find you after I finish class.
• 你 下班 了 以后 给 我 打 电话 。future actionNǐ ​xiàbān le yǐhòu gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà.After you get off work, give me a call.
• 你 到 了 以后 告诉 我 。future actionNǐ dào le yǐhòu gàosu wǒ.After 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.

Where to put 了

In some cases, 了 and the position of the object are fixed. If anything is misplaced, the sentence won't make sense.

Objects of Fixed Quantity

了 must go directly after the verb if the object is preceded by a number and measure word.

Verb + 了 + Number + Measure Word + Obj.

A few examples:

In these cases, if you put the 了 (le) at the end of the sentence, you're implying something besides just basic completion of the action.

When 来 (lái) or 去 (qù) Also Appear

If the preposition includes 来 (lái) or 去 (qù), 了 (le) should be placed after the second verb or verb phrase, marking the completion of the main event.

Subj. + 来 / 去 + Place + Verb / [Verb Phrase] + 了

A few examples:

• 昨天 她 来 我 家 吃饭 了 。Zuótiān tā lái wǒ jiā chīfàn le.She came to my place and ate dinner yesterday.
• 我们 上周 去 北京 开会 了 。Wǒmen shàng zhōu qù Běijīng kāihuì le.We went to Beijing and had a meeting there last week.
• 我 和 朋友 去 商场 买 衣服 了 。Wǒ hé péngyou qù shāngchǎng mǎi yīfu le.I went to the mall with my friend and bought some clothes.

See also

• Expressing experiences with verbs
• Uses of "le"
• Using "guo" with "le"

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]

Websites

• Yale: The Perfective –Le了 Versus The Modal Particle Le了