Learning to use "le"

Everyone thinks at first that 了 (le) is best learned as a series of hard and fast rules, similar to how you know what tense to use in Spanish. In reality, though, it's much easier to use 了 as a group of patterns. If you learn all of these patterns progressively, you will naturally start to get a feel for 了.

Completion with 了 (le)

Grammar Point (English)	Pattern	Examples
Expressing completion with "le"	Subj. + Verb + 了 + Obj.	我吃了两个苹果。
Result complement "-wan" for finishing	Verb + 完 (+ 了)	我说完了。
Questions with "le ma"	Verb + 了 + 吗？	你吃饭了吗？
Using "guo" with "le"	Verb + 过 + 了	她吃过了。

Expressing "Already" with 了 (le)

Grammar Point (English)	Pattern	Examples
Expressing "already" with just "le"	Subj. + Verb Phrase + 了	你应该问老师。我问了。
Expressing "already" with "yijing"	已经⋯⋯了	他已经走了。
Expressing "already" with "dou"	都 + Time + 了	都九点了，快点起床！

Indicating Change of State with 了 (le)

Grammar Point (English)	Pattern	Examples
Change of state with "le"	⋯⋯了	我 25 岁了。
Expressing "now" with "le"	New Situation + 了	吃饭了！
Expressing "not anymore" with "le"	不 / 没(有) + Verb Phrase + 了	我不想吃了。
Expressing "stop doing" with "bie… le"	别 + Verb + 了	别哭了，烦死了。
Expressing "again" in the past with "you"	又 + Verb + 了	你又迟到了。

About to" with 了 (le)

Grammar Point (English)	Pattern	Examples
Expressing "about to happen" with "le"	快 + Verb / Adj. + 了	快下雨了。
Expressing "about to" with "jiuyao"	还有 + Time Period + 就要 + Verb Phrase + 了	还有五天就要放假了。

Expressing Duration with 了 (le)

Grammar Point (English)	Pattern	Examples
Expressing duration with "le"	Verb + 了 + Duration	他在北京住了两年。
Expressing ongoing duration with double "le"	Verb + 了 + Duration + 了	他在北京住了两年了。
Expressing duration of inaction	Duration + 没 + Verb + 了	他已经一个星期没洗澡了。

Intensifying Degree with 了 (le)

Grammar Point (English)	Pattern	Examples
Expressing "excessively" with "tai"	太 + Adj. + 了	太好了 !
Negative adjectives with "-si le"	Adj. + 死了	我今天累死了。
Superlative "zui"	最 + Adj. (+ 了)	谁最有钱？
Adjectives with "-ji le"	Adj. + 极了	这个主意好极了。
Expressing "more and more" with "yuelaiyue"	Subj. + 越来越 + Adj. + 了	天气越来越冷了。
Expressing "much more" in comparisons	Noun 1 + 比 + Noun 2 + Adj. + 多了	拼音比汉字容易多了。

Common Patterns Using 了 (le)

Grammar Point (English)	Pattern	Examples
Expressing earliness with "jiu"	Subj. + Time + 就 + Verb + 了	我昨晚八点半就睡觉了。
Expressing "finally" with "zhongyu"	Subj. + 终于 + Predicate + 了	你终于到了。
Expressing "all at once" with "yixiazi"	Subj. + 一下子 + Verb + 了	天气一下子变冷了。
Expressing "enough" with "gou"	Subj. + 够 + Predicate (+ 了)	我们买了很多菜，够吃了。
Expressing "almost" using "chadian"	Subj. + 差点 + Predicate	我今天差点儿迟到了。