了 Part 1

Grammar Point:
Some textbooks may list multiple meanings to explain the Chinese character 了 le, but actually, there are only three of them main uses which we refer 了₁, 了₂, and 了_3.

了₁ (Verb-suffix了)

S + V + 了 + (O)

It means the action is complete and it should always be placed immediately after the verb.

Here comes the tricky part. Is using 了₁ equivalent to the past tense in English?
The answer is NO! There is no past tense in Chinese. But we use “le” to indicate a completed action. Therefore, there are some cases where we would use past tense in English, but we don’t use “le in Chinese. For example, “I didn’t eat it” is past tense in English, but the action isn’t really finished. You didn’t eat the food, so we don’t use “le” in Chinese. Therefore, please do not link 了1 with past tense.

There are other verbs that we never use “le” with because they cannot be completed. For example, “love” can’t be completed. So we never use “le” with it in Chinese.

他tā吃chī了le飯fàn他tā吃chī了le饭fàn
He had a meal. (It emphasizes the action of eating has been completed.)

我wǒ睡shuì了le覺jiào我wǒ睡shuì了le觉jiào
I slept. (It emphasizes that I am currently awake since I have completed the action of sleeping.)

我wǒ明天míngtiān下xià了le課kè就jiù要yào回家huíjiā我wǒ明天míngtiān下xià了le课kè就jiù要yào回家huíjiā
I’m going home tomorrow right after finish the class.
(This is another good example showing that 了 le is not a past tense marker. )

Add more details with 了₁

S + V +了₁ + Number + Measure Word + O

他tā昨天zuótiān吃chī了le兩liǎng碗wǎn飯fàn他tā昨天zuótiān吃chī了le两liǎng碗wǎn饭fàn
He ate two bowls of rice yesterday.

我wǒ喝hē了le五wǔ杯bēi水shuǐ我wǒ喝hē了le五wǔ杯bēi水shuǐ
I drank 5 glasses of water.

老師lǎoshī給gěi了le你nǐ5 塊kuài錢qián嗎ma？ 老师lǎoshī给gěi了le你nǐ5 块kuài钱qián吗ma？
Did the teacher give you five dollars?

S + V +了₁ + Time spent + (的 de + O)

他tā晚上wǎnshàng看kàn了le兩liǎng個ge鐘頭zhōngtóu的de電視diànshì他tā晚上wǎnshang看kàn了le两liǎng个ge钟头zhōngtóu的de电视diànshì
He watched two hours of television at night.

他tā跟gēn他tā男朋友nánpéngyǒu交往jiāowǎng了le七qī年nián他tā跟gēn他tā男朋友nánpéngyǒu交往jiāowǎng了le七qī年nián
He was in a relationship with his boyfriend for seven years.

你nǐ以前yǐqián在zài台灣Táiwān學xué了le多久duōjiǔ的de中文zhōngwén？ 你nǐ以前yǐqián在zài台湾Táiwān学xué了le多久duōjiǔ的de中文zhōngwén？
How long did you study Chinese in Taiwan before?

Something you may wonder

你nǐ吃chī了le飯fàn嗎ma？ 你nǐ吃chī了le饭fàn吗ma？

This is not commonly used because it doesn’t mean ‘Have you eaten?’ Instead, it means ‘Have you finished your eating action?’ As you can tell, it is not a very natural sentence to use. However, if we add a second action after it, then it would be appropriate. It indicates that after completing the first action, you will perform the second action.

你nǐ吃chī了le飯fàn要yào一起yìqǐ去qù打球dǎqiú嗎？ma？你nǐ吃chī了le饭fàn要yào一起yìqǐ去qù打球dǎqiú吗？ma？
Are you going to play ball together after dinner?

了₂ (Sentence particle了)

S + V + (O) + 了₂

It indicates a new situation or change of state and is always placed at the end of a sentence.

The Chinese particle 了₂ is typically used at the end of a sentence to indicate a change of state or situation, except when a final particle (such as ma, ba, a, ne, etc.) is present. In such cases, it appears immediately before the final particle. The 了₂ particle emphasizes that the situation is now different from before and that there has been a change in the state of something.

王Wáng先生xiānshēng五wǔ年nián前qián很hěn胖pàng， 現在xiànzài瘦shòu了le王Wáng先生xiānsheng五wǔ年nián前qián很hěn胖pàng， 现在xiànzài瘦shòu了le
Mr. Wang was fat 5 years ago but now he is thinner.

學xué中文zhōngwén的de人rén多duō了le学xué中文zhōngwén的de人rén多duō了le
The number of people who are learning Mandarin is increasing a lot.
(It wasn’t like that before.)

東西dōngxī都dōu貴guì了le东西dōngxi都dōu贵guì了le
Things are getting expensive now. (They were inexpensive before)

我wǒ飽bǎo了le！ 我wǒ饱bǎo了le！
I am full. (I was hungry)

我wǒ不bú愛ài你nǐ了le！ 我wǒ不bú爱ài你nǐ了le！
I don’t love you anymore. (I used to love you in the past)

Questions

你nǐ喝hē咖啡kāfēi了le嗎ma？ 你nǐ喝hē咖啡kāfēi了le吗ma？
Have you had coffee?
(It implies that you know this person drinks coffee and you want to check whether the statement ‘drink coffee’ has changed or not yet.)

你nǐ付錢fùqián了le嗎ma？ 你nǐ付钱fùqián了le吗ma？
Have you paid？

Let’s compare these 5 sentences!

你nǐ喝hē咖啡kāfēi嗎ma？ 你nǐ喝hē咖啡kāfēi吗ma？

你nǐ喝hē了le咖啡kāfēi嗎ma？ 你nǐ喝hē了le咖啡kāfēi吗ma？

你nǐ喝hē咖啡kāfēi了le嗎ma？ 你nǐ喝hē咖啡kāfēi了le吗ma？

你nǐ要yào喝hē咖啡kāfēi嗎ma？ 你nǐ要yào喝hē咖啡kāfēi吗ma？

你nǐ在zài喝hē咖啡kāfēi嗎ma？ 你nǐ在zài喝hē咖啡kāfēi吗ma？

The first question is asking about whether or not the person drinks coffee. It doesn’t imply anything specific. The second sentence is asking if the person has finished their coffee. It implies that the action of drinking coffee has already taken place, and the speaker is asking whether or not the person has completed it. The third sentence is asking if the person has had coffee. It emphasizes whether or not the action of drinking coffee has happened in the past. The fourth sentence is a question about whether or not the person wants to drink coffee in the present or near future.The last question is asking about the person’s current activity, specifically if they are currently drinking coffee.

了₃ (Set了)

太 tài + SV + 了 le / SV + 死了 sǐle

This is a fixed structure in the language and does not convey any specific meaning.

The 了₃ particle in Chinese is the simplest one. It is used in a few fixed structures that you just need to memorize.

天氣tiānqì熱rè死sǐ了le！ 天气tiānqì热rè死sǐ了le！
The weather is too hot.

王Wáng先生xiānshēng太tài胖pàng了le！ 王Wáng先生xiānshēeng太tài胖pàng了le！
Mr. Wang is too heavy!

Let’s Try Out

Let’s try to compare these two sentences!

下雨了 Xià yǔle　VS　下了雨 Xiàle yǔ

Do you know the difference?

了 Part 1

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Want to know more usages of 了？

Check this article：了 Part 2