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 (yǐjīng) is optional for this pattern, but either (bù) or 没有 (méiyǒu) will be needed to make the verb negative. The sentence-final (le) is, of course, essential.

(已经 +) 不 / 没(有) + [Verb Phrase] + 了

Examples

  • 没有in other words, "we're out of paper"Méiyǒu zhǐ le. There's no paper anymore.
  • 喜欢 我 xǐhuan wǒ le? You don't like me anymore?
  • 想 吃 Wǒ bù xiǎng chī le. I don't want to eat anymore.
  • 你们 能 喝 Nǐmen bù néng hē le. You can't drink anymore.
  • 已经 不 住 这里 Wǒ yǐjīng bù zhù zhèlǐ le. I don't live here anymore.
  • 我们 都 没有Wǒmen dōu méiyǒu qián le. We don't have any more money.
  • 已经 不 在 这儿 工作 yǐjīng bù zài zhèr gōngzuò le. He doesn't work here anymore.
  • 已经 不 是 我老板 yǐjīng bù shì wǒ lǎobǎn le. He is not my boss anymore.
  • 他们 已经 不 在 一起 Tamen yǐjīng bù zài yīqǐ le. They are no longer together.
  • 生病 以后,爸爸 能 喝酒 there's some new reason why dad can't drink nowShēngbìng yǐhòu, bàba néng hē jiǔ le. Dad can no longer drink after falling ill.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

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