Expressing "not anymore" with "le"

Chinese-grammar-wiki-le.jpg

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) + [Negative Verb Phrase] + 了

Examples

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

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

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