Expressing "already" with "yijing"

已经⋯⋯了 (yǐjīng⋯⋯ le) is the basic pattern used to express "already" in Chinese. It's easy to forget the 了 (le) on the end, but remembering to add it in will make your Chinese seem more natural.

Basic Pattern

已经 (yǐjīng) with Verb Phrase

Structure

The most common structure is to use 已经⋯⋯了 (yǐjīng⋯⋯ le) with a verb phrase.

已经 + Verb / [Verb Phrase] + 了

Examples

• 他们 已经 走 了。with just a verbTāmen yǐjīng zǒu le.They've already left.
• 我 已经 有 男朋友 了 。 with a verb phraseWǒ yǐjīng yǒu nánpéngyou le.I already have a boyfriend.
• 宝宝 已经 会 说话 了。with a verb phraseBǎobao yǐjīng huì shuōhuà le.The baby can already speak.
• 妈妈 已经 回来 了。with just a verbMāma yǐjīng huílái le.Mom has already come back.
• 他 已经 上 飞机 了。with a verb phraseTā yǐjīng shàng fēijī le.He's already gotten on the plane.

已经 (yǐjīng) with Adjective

Structure

Sometimes adjectives or time nouns are used instead of a typical verb phrase:

已经 + (很 +) Adj. + 了

Examples

• 爸爸 妈妈 已经 老 了。Bàba māma yǐjīng lǎo le.Mom and dad are already old.
• 已经 很 便宜 了。Yǐjīng hěn piányi le.It is already very cheap.
• 你 女朋友 已经 很 漂亮 了！ Nǐ nǚpéngyou yǐjīng hěn piàoliang le! Your girlfriend is already very beautiful!
• 你 的 感冒 已经 好 了 吗 ？Nǐ de gǎnmào yǐjīng hǎo le ma?Is your cold already better?
• 已经 很 晚 了，我们 走 吧。Yǐjīng hěn wǎn le, wǒmen zǒu ba.It's already really late. Let's go.

已经 (yǐjīng) with Time noun

Structure

已经 + Time Noun + 了

Examples

• 已经 11点 了，女儿 还 没 回来 。Yǐjīng shíyī diǎn le, nǚ'ér hái méi huílái. It is already 11 o'clock, and my daughter has not returned.
• 爷爷 已经 八十五 岁 了 。Yéye yǐjīng bāshí-wǔ suì le. Grandpa is already eighty-five years old.
• 我 学习 中文 已经 一 年 了 。Wǒ xuéxí Zhōngwén yǐjīng yī nián le. I have already been studying Chinese for a year.
• 他 在 洗手间 里 已经 半 个 小时 了 。 Tā zài xǐshǒujiān lǐ yǐjīng bàn ge xiǎoshí le. He has already been in the bathroom for half an hour.
• 爸爸 去 北京 出差 已经 两 天 了 。Bàba qù Běijīng chūchāi yǐjīng liǎng tiān le. It has already been two days since dad went to Beijing on business trip.

Negative Form

Structure

The negative structure simply adds a 不 (bù) after 已经 (yǐjīng), and before the verb (or possibly adjective).

已经 + 不 + [Verb Phrase] + 了

Examples

Generally this negative 已经 (yǐjīng) structure is translated into English as "not⋯⋯ anymore" rather than using the word "already."

• 我 已经 不 喜欢 你 了。Wǒ yǐjīng bù xǐhuan nǐ le. I don't like you anymore.
• 他 已经 不 爱 他 的 猫 了。Tā yǐjīng bù ài tā de māo le. He doesn't love his cat anymore.
• 他们 已经 不 住 在 中国 了。 Tāmen yǐjīng bù zhù zài Zhōngguó le. They don't live in China anymore.
• 我 已经 不 需要 父母 的 钱 了。 Wǒ yǐjīng bù xūyào fùmǔ de qián le. I don't need my parents' money anymore.
• 你 已经 不 在 Google 工作 了 吗？ Nǐ yǐjīng bù zài Google gōngzuò le ma? You don't work at Google anymore?

Sources and further reading

Books

• 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (p. 612) →buy
• 现代汉语虚词例释 (p. 554) →buy
• New Concept Chinese (新概念汉语　初级本II) (p. 41)→buy
• Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级) (p. 97) →buy

Dictionaries

• 现代汉语词典（第5版） (p.1609) →buy