Expressing "already" with "dou… le"

“都...了“ 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".

Structure

都 + Verb/Adjective/Quantity + 了

Examples

• 你 都 快 三十 了，还 不 结婚？
• 现在 都 是 二 十 一 世纪 了，你 怎么 还 这么 想？
• 都 九点 了，快 起床 吧！
• 他 都 到 了，你 能 不 见 他？
• 饭 都 凉 了，他 怎么 还 不 回来？

Sources and further reading

Books

• 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (pp. 178) →buy

Dictionaries

• 现代汉语词典（第5版） (pp.329 ) →buy

HSK4