Difference between revisions of "Change of state with "le""
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了 (le) has a lot of uses.  You probably first learned 了 as a [[particle]] that tells you an action is completed, which is also known as [[Expressing completion with "le"|了1]].  This article is not about that use of 了; it's about indicating a ''change of state'' ([[了2]]).  In other words, there is now a new situation, or there is about to be a new situation.  This whole "change of state" idea can take numerous forms, so it's helpful to view them individually, alongside some English translations.
 
了 (le) has a lot of uses.  You probably first learned 了 as a [[particle]] that tells you an action is completed, which is also known as [[Expressing completion with "le"|了1]].  This article is not about that use of 了; it's about indicating a ''change of state'' ([[了2]]).  In other words, there is now a new situation, or there is about to be a new situation.  This whole "change of state" idea can take numerous forms, so it's helpful to view them individually, alongside some English translations.
  
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== General Change of State ==
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== Structure ==
  
 
When used in this way, 了 is placed at the end of the sentence to mark that the whole statement describes a new situation.
 
When used in this way, 了 is placed at the end of the sentence to mark that the whole statement describes a new situation.
  
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Some examples:
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<div class="jiegou">
  
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<div class="liju">
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[New Situation] + 了
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* 我 会 说 中文 <em>了</em>。 <span class="expl">"I can speak Chinese now." (I couldn't before)</span>
 
−
* 我 有 女朋友 <em>了</em>。 <span class="expl">"I have a girlfriend now." (I didn't have one before)</span>
 
−
* 我 想 妈妈 <em>了</em> 。 <span class="expl">"I miss my mom now." </span>
 
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* 我 25 岁 <em>了</em>。
 
  
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
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== Expressing "Now" ==
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== Examples ==
  
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The word "now" doesn't always need to be translated as 现在.  You'll notice that in many common expressions, 了 is used in place of the explicit word for "now."
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Some examples:
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<div class="liju">
 
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* 吃饭 <em>了</em>！ <span class="expl">"Time to eat!"</span>
 
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* 我 来 <em>了</em>。 <span class="expl">"I'm coming over now. / I'm on the way"</span>
 
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* 我 知道 <em>了</em>。 <span class="expl">"I get it now. / I see now. / Now I know. (I didn't before)"</span>
 
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* 现在 我 明白<em>了</em>。
 
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* 走了，不要 吃<em>了</em>。
 
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* 我 想 你 <em>了</em>！
 
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* 我 去 睡觉 <em>了</em>。
 
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* 快 点 儿，开会 <em>了</em>！
 
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* 该 你 <em>了</em>。
 
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* 我 走 <em>了</em>。
 
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</div>
 
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== Expressing "Already" ==
 
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You can expect to see the word 已经 (meaning "already") in these sentences, which frequently pairs up with 了, but note that sometimes that feeling of "already" can also be expressed with 了 alone.
 
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<div class="liju">
 
−
 
 
−
* 我 已经 告诉 他 <em>了</em>。 <span class="expl">"I already told him."</span>
 
−
* 我 吃 饭 <em>了</em> 。 <span class="expl">"I've (already) eaten."</span>
 
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* 你 已经 知道 <em>了</em>。 <span class="expl">"You knew (that) a long time ago."</span>
 
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* 我 已经 做完 <em>了</em>。
 
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* 他 已经 走 <em>了</em>。
 
−
* 已经 晚 <em>了</em>。
 
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* 我们 已经 在 飞机 上 <em>了</em>。
 
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* 已经 学 过 <em>了</em>。
 
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* 面包 已经 买 <em>了</em>。
 
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* 已经 给 你 <em>了</em>。
 
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−
</div>
 
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== Expressing "Not Anymore" ==
 
−
 
 
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In a negative sentence, the sentence-final 了 can taken on the meaning of "(not) anymore" or "no longer."
 
  
 
<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
  
−
* 没 有 纸 <em>了</em>。<span class="expl">"There's no paper anymore." (in other words, "we're out of paper")</span>
+
* 我 会 说 中文 <em>了</em>。 <span class="expl">(I couldn't before)</span><span class="trans">I can speak Chinese now.</span>
−
* 他 不 会 再 去见她<em>了</em>。<span class="expl">"He is not going to see her anymore." (but he did before)</span>
+
* 我 有 女朋友 <em>了</em>。 <span class="expl">(I didn't have one before)</span><span class="trans">I have a girlfriend now.</span>
−
* 我 不 能 喝酒 <em>了</em>。<span class="expl">"I can't drink ''anymore''."</span>
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* 我 想 妈妈 <em>了</em> 。 <span class="expl">(I didn't before now)</span><span class="trans">I miss my mom now.</span>
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* 你 不 喜 欢 我 <em>了</em>？<span class="expl">"You don't like me anymore?"</span>
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* 我 25 岁 <em>了</em>。 <span class="trans">I'm 25 years old now.</span>
−
* 我 已经 不 爱 你 <em>了</em>。
 
−
* 我 没 有 钱<em>了</em>。
 
−
* 没 有 酒 <em>了</em>。
 
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* 我 没 有 工作 <em>了</em>。
 
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* 不 想 去 <em>了</em>。
 
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* 不 要 再 生气 <em>了</em>。
 
  
 
</div>
 
</div>
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== Other Types of Change of State ==
 
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Exactly what situations "change of state" covers is a bit open to interpretation.  See some other similar uses under the article on the [[modal particle "le"|modal particle 了 (le)]].
 
  
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==

Revision as of 07:33, 20 February 2014

Chinese-grammar-wiki-le.jpg
Also known as: 了2, change-of-state 了, sentence 了 and modal 了.

了 (le) has a lot of uses. You probably first learned 了 as a particle that tells you an action is completed, which is also known as 了1. This article is not about that use of 了; it's about indicating a change of state (了2). In other words, there is now a new situation, or there is about to be a new situation. This whole "change of state" idea can take numerous forms, so it's helpful to view them individually, alongside some English translations.

Structure

When used in this way, 了 is placed at the end of the sentence to mark that the whole statement describes a new situation.

[New Situation] + 了

Examples

Some examples:

  • 我 会 说 中文 了。 (I couldn't before)I can speak Chinese now.
  • 我 有 女朋友 了。 (I didn't have one before)I have a girlfriend now.
  • 我 想 妈妈 了 。 (I didn't before now)I miss my mom now.
  • 我 25 岁 了。 I'm 25 years old now.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites

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