Expressing "not anymore" with "le"

In a negative sentence, the sentence-final 了 (le) can take on the meaning of "(not) anymore" or "no longer." The word 已经 (yǐjīng), which means "already," may nor may not accompany it.

Structure

已经 (yǐjīng) is optional for this pattern, but either 不 (bù) or 没有 (méiyǒu) will be needed to make the verb negative. The sentence-final 了 (le) is, of course, essential.

(已经 +) 不 / 没(有) + [Verb Phrase] + 了

Examples

• 没有 纸 了 。in other words, "we're out of paper"Méiyǒu zhǐ le. There's no paper anymore.
• 你 不 喜欢 我 了 ？Nǐ bù xǐhuan wǒ le? You don't like me anymore?
• 我 不 想 吃 了 。Wǒ bù xiǎng chī le. I don't want to eat anymore.
• 你们 不能 喝 了 。Nǐmen bù néng hē le. You can't drink anymore.
• 我 已经 不 住 这里 了 。Wǒ yǐjīng bù zhù zhèlǐ le. I don't live here anymore.
• 我们 都 没有 钱 了 。Wǒmen dōu méiyǒu qián le. We don't have any more money.
• 他 已经 不 在 这儿 工作 了 。Tā yǐjīng bù zài zhèr gōngzuò le. He doesn't work here anymore.
• 他 已经 不 是 我老板 了。Tā yǐjīng bù shì wǒ lǎobǎn le. He is not my boss anymore.
• 他们 已经 不 在 一起 了 。Tamen yǐjīng bù zài yīqǐ le. They are no longer together.
• 生病 以后，爸爸 不 能 喝酒 了 。there's some new reason why dad can't drink nowShēngbìng yǐhòu, bàba bù néng hē jiǔ le. Dad can no longer drink after falling ill.

See also

• Expressing "already" with "le"
• Uses of "le"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (p. 68) →buy
• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 126-9) →buy
• Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar (pp. 238-99) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2) (pp. 217-8) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp. 64-5) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (p. 8) →buy
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (p. 239)→buy

Websites

• Chinesegrammar.info: Chinese le grammar summary (了)