Expressing "already" with just "le"

Revision as of 02:59, 24 February 2014 by Yucui (talk | contribs)

You can expect to see the word 已经 (yǐjīng) to mean "already" in Chinese, and it is followed with a (le), but sometimes that feeling of "already" can also be expressed with 了 (le) alone.

Structure

(已经) + [Verb phrase] + 了

Examples

  • 我 吃 饭 I've (already) eaten.
  • 我 已经 告诉 他 I've already told him.
  • 你 已经 知道 "You knew (that) already."
  • 我 已经 做完 I already finished it.
  • 他 已经 走 He has already left.
  • 已经 晚 It's already late.
  • 我们 已经 在 飞机 上 We're on the plane already.
  • 已经 学 过 (The subject is unclear here.)Already studied it.
  • 面包 已经 买 (The subject is unclear here.)Already bought the bread.
  • 已经 给 你 (The subject is unclear here.)Already gave it to you.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites