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.
王先生五年前很胖,現在瘦了王先生五年前很胖,现在瘦了
Mr. Wang was fat 5 years ago but now he is thinner.
學中文的人多了学中文的人多了
The number of people who are learning Mandarin is increasing a lot.
(It wasn’t like that before.)
東西都貴了东西都贵了
Things are getting expensive now. (They were inexpensive before)
我飽了!我饱了!
I am full. (I was hungry)
我不愛你了!我不爱你了!
I don’t love you anymore. (I used to love you in the past)
Questions
你喝咖啡了嗎?你喝咖啡了吗?
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.)
你付錢了嗎?你付钱了吗?
Have you paid?
Let’s compare these 5 sentences!
你喝咖啡嗎?你喝咖啡吗?
你喝了咖啡嗎?你喝了咖啡吗?
你喝咖啡了嗎?你喝咖啡了吗?
你要喝咖啡嗎?你要喝咖啡吗?
你在喝咖啡嗎?你在喝咖啡吗?
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.
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?
