Expressing "about to happen" with "le"

Revision as of 02:47, 29 June 2015 by Liza (talk | contribs)

Remember that 了 (le) is not only for the past! When something is about to happen, you can also indicate this using 了 (le). Normally it is paired with a 快 (kuài) and/or a 要 (yào).

快……了 with Verbs

When using "快……了" (kuài... le) with verbs, it takes on a meaning similar to the English "just about to."

Structure

快 + Verb/Verb Phrase + 了

Examples

  • 下班 吗 ? kuài xiàbān le ma? Are you going to get off work soon?
  • 这 些 工作 做 完 Zhè xiē gōngzuò kuài zuò wán le. I am almost finished with work.
  • 到 家 吗 ? kuài dào jiā le ma? Are you going to come home soon/ are you almost home?
  • 我 觉得 下雨 , 我们 走 吧 。 Wǒ juéde kuài xiàyǔ le, wǒmen zǒu bā. I think it's going to rain soon. Let's go.
  • 过年 , 你 什么 时候 回家 ? Kuài guò nián le, nǐ shénme shíhou huíjiā? It's almost Chinese New Year, when are you going back to your hometown?
  • 小李 , 你 别 开 玩笑 了 。 Xiǎolǐ kuàile, nǐ bié kāi wánxiào le. XiaoLi is almost crying, stop joking around.
  • 我们 Wǒmen kuài dào le. We are about to arrive.
  • 这 个 老人 Zhè gè lǎorén kuàile. This old person is going to die soon.
  • 你们 结婚 Nǐmen kuài jiéhūn le? Are you soon getting married?
  • 下 车 , 你 再 等 一会儿 。 Kuài xià chē le, nǐ zài děng yīhuìr. You are soon getting out of the car, wait a moment.

Notice that for some translations, it's more natural to use the English word "almost" instead of "soon."

快 要……了 with Verbs

Another way you will see 快 要……了 (kuài yào…… le) same pattern used is in conjunction with the modal verb 要 (yào). 要 can have multiple meanings, one of which is "will" (referring to the future). You can insert it into the basic pattern, right before the verb.

Structure

快 + 要 + Verb/Verb Phrase + 了

Examples

  • 快 要 下班 吗 ? kuài yào xiàbān le ma? Will you be getting off work soon?
  • 这 些 工作 快 要 做 完 , 我 晚点 下班 。 Zhè xiē gōngzuò kuài yào zuò wán le, wǒ wǎn diǎn xiàbān. I will almost finish this work, I'll get off work a little late.
  • 快 要 到 家 吗 ? kuài yào dào jiā le ma? Will you be coming home soon?
  • 我 觉得 快 要 下雨 , 我们 走 吧 。 Wǒ juéde kuài yào xiàyǔ le, wǒmen zǒu bā. I think it will start raining soon. Let's go.
  • 快 要 过年 , 你 什么 时候 回家 ? Kuài yào guò nián le, nǐ shénme shíhou huíjiā? It'll be Chinese New Year soon, when are you going back to your hometown?
  • 小李 快 要 , 你 别 开 玩笑 了 。 Xiǎolǐ kuài yàole, nǐ bié kāi wánxiào le. XiaoLi will soon be crying, stop joking around.
  • 我们 快 要Wǒmen kuài yào dào le. We will arrive soon.
  • 这 个 老人 快 要Zhè gè lǎorén kuài yàole. This old person will die soon.
  • 你们 快 要 结婚 Nǐmen kuài yào jiéhūn le? Will you soon be getting married?
  • 快 要 下车 , 你 再 等 一会儿 。 Kuài yào xiàchē le, nǐ zài děng yīhuìr. You will soon get out of the car, wait a moment.

These examples are the same as some of the ones above, with a "要" (yào) added. The addition of the "要" (yào) does not change the meanings.

快……了 with Adjectives

In this structure, 快……了 (kuài…… le) is closer to the meaning of "almost" in English.

Structure

快 + Adjective + 了

Note that for adjectives, you don't normally add a 要 (yào) like you do for verbs (see above).

Examples

  • kuài hǎo le. I'm almost ready.
  • Ròu kuài shóu le. The meat is almost done [cooking].
  • 他 的 脏 袜子 Tā de zāng wàzi kuài chòu le. His dirty socks are about to smell bad.
  • Tiān kuài hēi le. It’s almost getting dark.
  • 你 的 咖啡 Nǐ de kāfēi kuài liáng le. Your coffee is almost cool.
  • 水果 Shuǐguǒ kuài huài le. The fruit is almost ruined.
  • 不 能 再 喝 了 , 我 Bù néng zài hē le, wǒ kuài zuì le. I don't want to drink more, I am almost drunk.
  • 迟到 kuài chídào le. I was almost late.
  • 衣服 Yīfu kuài gān le. The clothes are almost clean.
  • 杯子 Bēizi kuài mǎn le. The cup is almost filled up.

要......了 with Verbs

Structure

You can also just use 要 (yào) before the verb, without 快 (kuài) .

Subject + 要 + Verb/Verb Phrase + 了

Note that for adjectives, you don't normally use 要 (yào) like this, as you do for verbs (see above).

Examples

  • 见 妈妈 , 高兴 吗 ? Yào jiàn māma le, gāoxìng ma? You're about to see your mom. Are you happy?
  • 我 觉得 下雨 Wǒ juéde yào xiàyǔ le. I think it's about to rain.
  • 生气 yào shēngqì le! I'm going to get angry!
  • 迟到 yào chídào le! I'm going to be late!
  • 他们 的 孩子 出生 Tāmen de háizi yào chūshēng le. Their child is about to be born.
  • 9 点 了 , 超市 关门 9diǎn le, chāoshì yào guān mén le. It's 9 o'clock. The supermarket is about to close.
  • 圣诞节 , 你 有 什么 打算 ? Shèngdànjié yào dào le, nǐ yǒu shénme dǎsuàn? It's almost Christmas. What plans do you have?
  • 结婚 ! 哈哈 ! yào jiéhūn le! Hāhā! I'm about to get married! Ha ha!
  • 我 觉得 我 感冒 Wǒ juéde wǒ yào gǎnmào le. I think I'm about to get a cold. / I think I'm coming down with a cold.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites