How to Use 了

Q: What are some example sentences with 了?

Here are some example sentences with 了: – 我们到了 。wǒ men dào le. We have arrived. – 我们昨天去踢了足球。 wǒmen zuótiān qù tī le zúqiú. We went to play football yesterday. – 我买了五本书。 wǒ mǎi le wǔ běn shū. I bought five books. – 明天我要去香港了。 míngtiān wǒ yào qù xiānggǎng le. I am going to Hong Kong tomorrow. – 我们去商场买衣服了。 wǒmen qù shāngchǎng mǎi yīfu le. We went to the mall to buy clothes.

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“我回来了(I am back.)” When you first read or hear this sentence, you may wonder, why do I need to use “了” in this sentence?

Well, “了(le)” is one of the vital auxiliary words in Chinese. It is widely used in oral and written Chinese. However, “了(le)” has several different uses.

EXPRESSING COMPLETION WITH 了

One of the most common uses of 了(le) is to express the completion of an action. We often place了 (le) after the verb to indicate the completion. So here’s the basic structure:

PATTERN

Subject + Verb + 了

^{wǒmen dōu qù le.}

我们都去了。

_{We all went.}

^{wǒ xiěwán le.}

我写完了。

_{I’m done.}

^{wǒ zhǎo dào le！}

我找到了！

_{I found it!}

Here is where things start to get slightly more complicated.

If the verb has an object, 了 (le) can go directly after the verb to indicate completion.

There are usually four cases under this circumstance:

1. When Time is Specified

In this case, we can simply place the specified time before or after the subject:

STRUCTURE #1

Subject + Time + Verb + 了 + Object

STRUCTURE #2

Time + Subject + Verb + 了 + Object

^{wǒ zǎoshang hē le kāfēi.}

我早上喝了咖啡。

_{I had coffee in the morning.}

^{zhōngwǔ wǒmen chī le fàn.}

中午我们吃了饭。

_{We had lunch at noon.}

View More Phrases

CHINESE	PINYIN	ENGLISH
我们昨天去踢了足球。	wǒmen zuótiān qù tī le zúqiú.	We went to play football yesterday.
他刚刚买了新手表。	tā gānggang mǎi le xīnshǒu biǎo.	He just bought a new watch.
她上周去了北京。	tā shàngzhōu qù le běijīng.	She went to Beijing last week.

2. When the Object’s Quantity is Specified

This pattern works if the sentence includes more information about the object, such as how many there are. The structure is as follows:

PATTERN

Subject + Verb + 了 + [Number + Measure Word] + Object

^{wǒ mǎi le wǔ běn shū.}

我买了五本书。

_{I bought five books.}

^{wǒ yǎng le sān zhǐ xiǎogǒu.}

我养了三只小狗。

_{I raised three puppies.}

View More Phrases

Chinese	pinyin	english
房间里放了三个椅子。	fángjiān lǐ fàng le sānge yǐzi.	There are three chairs in the room.
我做了两个苹果派。	wǒ zuò le liǎngge píngguǒpài.	I made two apple pies.
老师问了两个问题。	lǎoshī wèn le liǎngge wèntí.	The teacher asked two questions.

3. When 了 Comes After the Object

Even when indicating completion, the 了 (le) can sometimes go after the object. This is not a topic that can be covered in depth at the elementary level, but you should be aware that this does happen too.

PATTERN

Subject + Verb + Object + 了

^{xiàge yuè xuéxiào yào jǔxíng yùndònghuì le.}

下个月学校要举行运动会了。

_{There is a sports meeting in the school next month.}

View More Phrases

CHINESE	PINYIN	ENGLISH
明天我要去香港了。	míngtiān wǒ yào qù xiānggǎng le.	I am going to Hong Kong tomorrow.
昨天我们去放风筝了。	zuótiān wǒmen qù fàngfēng zhēng le.	Yesterday we went to fly a kite.
昨天晚上我看见UFO了。	zuótiān wǎnshang wǒ kànjiàn yōu áifu ōu le.	I saw a UFO last night.

PUTTING 了 AFTER CONSECUTIVE ACTIONS

So what happens if a whole string of things happened in the past?

Do you have to put a 了 (le) after each one, just like we’d put each verb in the past tense in English? Good question! The short answer is that you only need one 了 (le).

To keep things simple, we’ll make the first action “coming” or “going” somewhere, followed by another action.

For this type of “consecutive action,” 了 (le) should be placed after the final verb (or verb phrase), which marks the completion of the entire sequence. Below is the sentence structure.

PATTERN

Subject + 来 / 去 + Place + Verb / [Verb Phrase] + 了

^{tāmen qù wàimiàn chīfàn le.}

他们去外面吃饭了。

_{They went out to eat.}

^{lǎoshī lái jiàoshì shàngkè le.}

老师来教室上课了。

_{The teacher has come to the classroom.}

View More Phrases

CHINESE	PINYIN	ENGLISH
我们去商场买衣服了。	wǒmen qù shāngchǎng mǎi yīfu le.	We went to the mall to buy clothes.
记者来我们公司采访了。	jìzhě lái wǒmen gōngsī cǎifǎng le.	The reporter came to our company to interview.
我们上周去北京开会了。	wǒmen shàngzhōu qù běijīng kāihuì le.	We went to Beijing for a meeting last week.

CHANGE OF STATE WITH 了

了 (le) as a modal particle can also indicate a change, or in other words, something new has occurred. In this case, we put 了 after the adjective at the end of the sentences to represent the change of state:

PATTERN

Subject + Adjective + 了

^{wǒ è le.}

我饿了。

_{I’m hungry.}

^{nǚhái biàn piàoliang le.}

女孩变漂亮了。

_{The girl becomes beautiful.}

^{tiānqì lěng le.}

天气冷了。

_{It’s cold.}

View More Phrases

chinese	pinyin	english
你生气了吗？	nǐ shēngqì le ma?	Are you angry?
婆婆老了。	pópo lǎo le.	Granny is old.
孩子们都累了。	háizimen dōu lèi le.	The children are tired.

When following a verb or verb phrase, the 了 (le) indicates a change in an overall situation. The sentence structure should be:

PATTERN

Subject + Verb + 了

For these cases, sometimes you can translate this 了 (le) as “now.” For example:

^{xiàxuě le.}

下雪了。

_{It’s snowing.}

^{shízhōng tíng le.}

时钟停了。

_{The clock stopped.}

View More Phrases

chinese	pinyin	english
他升职了。	tā shēngzhí le.	He got promoted.
小狗睡觉了。	xiǎogǒu shuìjiào le.	The puppy is sleeping.
银行倒闭了。	yínháng dǎobì le.	The bank has failed.

Its negative form is the same pattern with a 不 (bù) before the verb:

PATTERN

Subject + 不 + Verb + 了

The negative form indicates that something already decided has changed. What had once been green-lit is now getting a red light. And this is more like a change of plan or intent.

^{jīntiān wǒ bù chī wǎnfàn le.}

今天我不吃晚饭了。

_{I don’t have dinner today.}

^{zhège shǒutíbāo wǒ bù mǎi le.}

这个手提包我不买了。

_{I will not buy this handbag.}

View More Phrases

CHINESE	PINYIN	ENGLISH
我们不去看电影了。	wǒmen bú qù kàn diànyǐng le.	We will not go to the movies.
我不参加这次会议了。	wǒ bù cānjiā zhè cì huìyì le.	I am not participating in this meeting.
这次的活动不举办了。	zhè cì de huódòng bù jǔbàn le.	This event is no longer held.

EXPRESSING ALREADY WITH 了

We mainly use 已经 to express “already” in Chinese. However, that feeling of “already” can sometimes be said with 了 (le) if it is used to respond to a preceding question or statement.

PATTERN

Subject + Verb Phrase + 了

Note that this pattern is usually in response to a question or statement. See the following dialogs for example:

^{nǐ zuótiān qù xuéxiào le ma?}

你昨天去学校了吗？

_{Did you go to school yesterday?}

^{wǒ qù le.}

我去了。

_{Yes, I did.}

View More Dialogues

chinese	pinyin	english
A: 我们应该告诉他这件事吗？ B: 他知道了。	A: wǒmen yīnggāi gàosu tā zhè jiàn shì ma? B: tā zhīdào le.	A: Should we tell him about it? B: He knows.
A: 你吃过早餐了吗？ B: 我吃过了，谢谢。	A: nǐ chī guòzǎo cān le ma? B: wǒ chī guo le, xièxie.	A: Have you had breakfast? B: I have eaten, thank you.
A: 老板在吗？ B: 他走了。	A: lǎobǎn zài ma? B: tā zǒu le.	A: Is the boss there? B: He’s gone.
A: 这本书很好看。 B: 我看过了。	A: zhè běn shū hěn hǎokàn. B: wǒ kàn guo leliǎo le liào.	A: This book is very nice. B: I have seen it.

EXPRESSING DURATION WITH 了

We can use了 (le) to express time duration in Chinese. For instance, you can use it when you want to say how long you lived somewhere, how long you studied astrophysics, or how long you worked as a mime.

To describe the period, you need to place 了 (le) after the verb (to indicate that the action is completed), followed by the duration:

PATTERN

Subject + Verb + 了 + Duration + Object

^{wǒ kàn le yì wǎnshang shū.}

我看了一晚上书。

_{I read a book all night.}

^{tā dàn le yíxià wǔ gāngqín.}

她弹了一下午钢琴。

_{She played the piano all afternoon.}

View More Phrases

chinese	pinyin	english
会议开了一天。	huìyì kāi le yì tiān.	The meeting went on for a day.
他学了两年中文。	tā xué le liǎng niánzhōng wén.	He studied Chinese for two years.
我们做了四个小时的飞机。	wǒmen zuò le sìge xiǎoshí de fēijī.	We did a four-hour flight.

EXPRESSING “NOW” WITH 了

Actually, 现在 (xiàn zài) isn’t the only way to express “now.” You can also use了 (le) in place of the word for “now.” The structure is as follows:

PATTERN

New Situation + 了

This pattern is actually the same as change of state with “了” (you can find this usage in the third part of this article.)

^{kāifàn le!}

开饭了！

_{Dinner’s ready!}

^xiàkè le.

下课了。

_{Class is over.}

View More Phrases

CHINESE	PINYIN	ENGLISH
快点，开会了！	kuài diǎn, kāihuì le!	Come on, the meeting is about to begin!
轮到你了。	lúndào nǐ le.	It’s your turn.
我走了，再见。	wǒ zǒu le, zàijiàn.	I am leaving, bye.

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FAQs

What does 了 mean?

“了(le)” is one of the vital auxiliary words in Chinese, and doesn’t have a direct translation into English. Instead of having its own meaning, 了 is used to modify the meaning or state of a verb. For example, when placed immediately after a verb, the 了 particle can express completion, indicating that the verb is in the past tense.

What are the most common uses of 了?

Although 了 has many uses, it is most commonly used to:

– Express completion

– Express a change of state

– Express something that has already happened

– Express time duration

– Express something that is happening right now

What happens when you have multiple verbs?

You don’t need to use 了 after every verb! If you have a list of verbs, you only need to use 了 at the end of the final verb.

What are some example sentences with 了?

Here are some example sentences with 了:

– 我们到了。wǒ men dào le. We have arrived.

– 我们昨天去踢了足球。wǒmen zuótiān qù tī le zúqiú. We went to play football yesterday.

– 我买了五本书。wǒ mǎi le wǔ běn shū. I bought five books.

– 明天我要去香港了。míngtiān wǒ yào qù xiānggǎng le. I am going to Hong Kong tomorrow.

– 我们去商场买衣服了。wǒmen qù shāngchǎng mǎi yīfu le. We went to the mall to buy clothes.

How can I learn to read Chinese?

Have you learned at least 100 characters? Then you can start reading in Chinese! Yes, even without an extensive vocabulary under your belt, you can start reading Chinese to improve your skills. Graded readers are novels written specifically for language learners of all different levels. Here are our recommendations of the best graded readers for Chinese.

How can I improve my Chinese listening skills?

Watching TV in Chinese is one of the best ways to improve your Chinese listening skills! Even if you’re not fully comfortable watching native-level content, getting exposure the language will help you improve your listening skills tremendously. Here’s our list of the best Chinese TV shows to learn Chinese.

Chinese Grammar Bank

HOW TO USE 了

EXPRESSING COMPLETION WITH 了

PATTERN

1. When Time is Specified

STRUCTURE #1

STRUCTURE #2

2. When the Object’s Quantity is Specified

PATTERN

3. When 了 Comes After the Object

PATTERN

PUTTING 了 AFTER CONSECUTIVE ACTIONS

PATTERN

CHANGE OF STATE WITH 了

PATTERN

PATTERN

PATTERN

EXPRESSING ALREADY WITH 了

PATTERN

EXPRESSING DURATION WITH 了

PATTERN

EXPRESSING “NOW” WITH 了

PATTERN

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