Expressing "now" with "le"

Expressing "Now"

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."

• 吃饭 了！ "Time to eat!"
• 我 来 了。 "I'm coming over now. / I'm on the way"
• 我 知道 了。 "I get it now. / I see now. / Now I know. (I didn't before)"
• 现在 我 明白了。
• 走了，不要 吃了。
• 我 想 你 了！
• 我 去 睡觉 了。
• 快 点 儿，开会 了！
• 该 你 了。
• 我 走 了。