Learning to use "le"
Revision as of 09:17, 22 February 2018 by ChenShishuang (talk | contribs) (→Indicating Change of State)
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.
Contents
Expressing Completion
| 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 。 |
了 as "already"
| 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 "not anymore" with "le" | 不 / 没(有) + Verb Phrase + 了 | 我 不 想 吃 了 。 |
| Expressing "already" with "dou" | 都 + Time + 了 | 都 九点 了 ，快点 起床 ！ |
Indicating Change of State
| 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 "again" in the past with "you" | 又 + Verb + 了 | 你 又 迟到 了 。 |
| Direction complement "-qilai" | Verb / Adj.+ 起来 | 天气 热 起来 了 。 |
了 as "about to"
| 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
| 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 。 |
Indicating Higher Degree
| 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 。 |
| Expressing "more and more" with "yuelaiyue" | Subj. + 越来越 + Adj. + 了 | 天气 越来越 冷 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 "much more" in comparisons | Noun 1 + 比 + Noun 2 + Adj. + 多了 | 拼音 比 汉字 容易 多了 。 |
Common Patterns
| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Expressing "stop doing" with "bie… le" | 别 + Verb + 了 | 别 哭 了，烦 死了 。 |
| 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 。 |
| Result complement "-xiaqu" | Verb + 下去 | 这个 故事 太 无聊 了 ，我 听 不 下去 了 。 |
