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.

Home HSK 1 How to use 了 (le) in Chinese: verb 了 vs. sentence 了

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了 (le) has two core jobs in Mandarin: as a verb particle placed right after the verb it marks a completed action, and as a sentence particle placed at the end of a clause it signals a change of state or new situation. It is not a past-tense marker, it is an aspect and modal particle, so the same 了 can appear in past, present, future and conditional sentences depending on context.

If there is one character that trips up almost every Mandarin learner, it is 了 (le). It shows up everywhere: after verbs, at the end of sentences, after adjectives. And it seems to mean something slightly different every time.

The good news? Once you see the two core jobs 了 does, the rest falls into place. This guide walks through both, plus the trickier patterns you will need as you move past beginner level.

If you have ever wondered whether Mandarin is hard to learn, 了 is a great example of why the grammar is genuinely tricky but also very learnable once someone shows you the system.

Verb 了 vs. sentence 了: the two core uses
Does 了 mean past tense?
Expressing completion with verb 了
Negating completed actions: 没 and 没有
Putting 了 after consecutive actions
Using 了 in future and sequential sentences
Change of state with sentence 了
Expressing something about to happen: 快/要/就要/快要 + 了
Expressing ‘already’ with 了
Expressing duration with 了
Expressing “now” with 了
Double 了: when both particles appear in one sentence
Keep going with Chinese grammar

Verb 了 vs. sentence 了: the two core uses

了 (le) has two distinct jobs in Mandarin, and mixing them up is the root of most confusion.

Verb 了 sits directly after a verb. It is an aspect particle: it tells you an action was completed relative to a reference point in time. It does not mean past tense the way English does; it marks completion.

Sentence 了 sits at the end of a sentence (or clause). It is a modal particle: it signals that something has changed, that a new situation exists, or that a threshold has been reached.

The sections below cover each in turn.

Does 了 mean past tense?

This is one of the most common questions English speakers ask, and the short answer is: no, 了 is not a past-tense marker.

Mandarin does not have tenses the way English does. Instead, it uses aspect: markers that tell you the state of an action relative to a time frame. 了 marks completion or change, not ‘past.’

That is why you can use 了 in future sentences too: 等你来了，我们就出发。(děng nǐ lái le, wǒmen jiù chūfā.) When you arrive, we will set off. Here the arrival is ‘completed’ in the logical sequence even though it hasn’t happened yet.

Think of 了 as a checkbox: it says ‘done’ or ‘different now.’ The time frame (past, future, conditional) is set by context and time words, not by 了 itself.

Expressing completion with verb 了

One of the most common uses of 了 (le) is to mark the completion of an action. Place 了 directly after the verb:

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.

Negating completed actions: 没 and 没有

To say something did NOT happen or was not completed, use 没 (méi) or 没有 (méiyǒu) before the verb. When you use 没/没有, you drop 了 entirely, because 没 already signals the action did not reach completion.

PATTERN

Subject + 没(有) + Verb + Object

Chinese	Pinyin	English
我没吃早饭。	wǒ méi chī zǎofàn.	I didn’t eat breakfast.
他没买新手表。	tā méi mǎi xīn shǒubiǎo.	He didn’t buy a new watch.
她昨天没去北京。	tā zuótiān méi qù běijīng.	She didn’t go to Beijing yesterday.

Note: you will still see 了 at the end of a sentence with 没有 when the sentence is expressing a change of state rather than negating completion. Context tells you which role 了 is playing, which is exactly why naming the two types matters.

Putting 了 after consecutive actions

When a sentence describes going or coming somewhere and then doing something, you only need one 了 (le), placed after the final verb or verb phrase. That single 了 marks the completion of the whole sequence.

You do not need to add 了 after every verb, the way English puts each verb in the past tense. One 了 at the end does the job.

The most common version of this pattern starts with 来 (lái, come) or 去 (qù, go):

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.

Using 了 in future and sequential sentences

Because 了 marks completion rather than past tense, you can use it in future or conditional sentences to mean ‘once X is done, then Y.’

PATTERN

Subject + Verb + 了 + (Object) + , + Result/Next action

Chinese	Pinyin	English
吃了饭再走。	chī le fàn zài zǒu.	Eat first, then go.
做完了作业就可以玩。	zuò wán le zuòyè jiù kěyǐ wán.	Once you finish your homework, you can play.
等他来了，我们开始吧。	děng tā lái le, wǒmen kāishǐ ba.	Once he arrives, let’s start.

This pattern comes up constantly in everyday speech, so it is worth practising early.

Change of state with sentence 了

Sentence 了 (le), placed at the end of a sentence or after an adjective, signals that something has changed or that a new situation now exists. This is the modal particle use of 了. It does not describe a completed action; it marks the moment a state becomes different from before. You can often translate it as ‘now’ or ‘has become.’

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 something about to happen: 快/要/就要/快要 + 了

Sentence 了 also combines with 快 (kuài), 要 (yào), 就要 (jiù yào), or 快要 (kuài yào) to express that something is about to happen. Think of it as the Mandarin version of ‘about to’ or ‘almost.’

PATTERN

Subject + 快/要/就要/快要 + Verb + 了

Chinese	Pinyin	English
快下雨了。	kuài xià yǔ le.	It’s about to rain.
我要走了。	wǒ yào zǒu le.	I’m about to leave.
电影就要开始了。	diànyǐng jiù yào kāishǐ le.	The film is about to start.
她快要生孩子了。	tā kuài yào shēng háizi le.	She is about to give birth.

This is sentence 了 at work: the situation is changing, the threshold is approaching.

Expressing ‘already’ with 了

了 (le) can carry the meaning of ‘already’ when it appears in a short response to a question or comment. In this use, 了 signals that the action is done and the listener does not need to prompt further. You will often see this alongside 已经 (yǐjīng, already), but 了 alone is enough in spoken replies.

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.

Double 了: when both particles appear in one sentence

Sometimes a sentence contains both a verb 了 and a sentence 了. This combines ‘completed action’ with ‘change of state’ in a single sentence.

PATTERN

Subject + Verb + 了 + Object + 了

Chinese	Pinyin	English
我喝了三杯咖啡了。	wǒ hē le sān bēi kāfēi le.	I’ve already drunk three cups of coffee (and that’s a lot / things have changed).
她学了两年中文了。	tā xué le liǎng nián zhōngwén le.	She has been learning Chinese for two years now.
他等了一个小时了。	tā děng le yī gè xiǎoshí le.	He has been waiting for an hour now.

The first 了 marks the verb (completion or duration), and the second 了 at the end signals the current relevance or change of state. Together they create a sense of ‘by now’ or ‘already, and that matters.’

Keep going with Chinese grammar

了 (le) is one of the most frequently used particles you will meet, and getting comfortable with it makes a big difference to how natural your Mandarin sounds. If you want to keep building, the HSK 1 grammar patterns in the Grammar Bank are a great next step.

Or, if you want to practise using 了 with a native teacher in a live class, you can start with a free trial at Flexi Classes.

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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.

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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.

What is the difference between 没 and 不 when used with 了?

没 (méi) and 没有 (méiyǒu) negate completed actions. You use them to say something did not happen, and you drop 了 when you do: 我没吃早饭 (wǒ méi chī zǎofàn, I didn’t eat breakfast). 不 (bù) before a verb plus sentence 了 at the end negates a plan or intent that has changed: 我不去了 (wǒ bù qù le, I’m no longer going). Different job, different position in the sentence.

Can 了 appear twice in the same sentence?

Yes. When a sentence contains both a verb 了 (marking completion) and a sentence 了 (marking change of state), you get double 了. For example: 他等了一个小时了 (tā děng le yī gè xiǎoshí le, he has been waiting for an hour now). The first 了 follows the verb, the second closes the sentence. Together they create a ‘by now’ or ‘already and that’s notable’ feeling.

Is 了 always pronounced le?

Mostly, yes. In everyday speech, 了 as a particle is always le. However, 了 has a second reading: liǎo. In that reading it is not a particle at all; it appears in potential complement structures like 做得了 (zuò de liǎo, able to do it) and 受不了 (shòu bu liǎo, can’t stand it). If you see 了 sandwiched inside a 得/不 complement, it is liǎo, not le.

How is 了 different from 过 (guò)?

了 (le) marks that an action was completed or that a situation has changed, often with current relevance. 过 (guò) marks that you have had a particular experience at some point in your life, without connecting it to the present moment. Compare: 我吃了早饭 (wǒ chī le zǎofàn, I ate breakfast, implying it’s done and relevant now) with 我吃过北京烤鸭 (wǒ chī guò běijīng kǎoyā, I have eaten Peking duck before, as a life experience). Both relate to completion, but 过 is about experience, 了 is about state.

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Verb 了 vs. sentence 了: the two core uses

Does 了 mean past tense?

Expressing completion with verb 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

Negating completed actions: 没 and 没有

PATTERN

Putting 了 after consecutive actions

PATTERN

Using 了 in future and sequential sentences

PATTERN

Change of state with sentence 了

PATTERN

PATTERN

PATTERN

Expressing something about to happen: 快/要/就要/快要 + 了

PATTERN

Expressing ‘already’ with 了

PATTERN

Expressing duration with 了

PATTERN

Expressing “now” with 了

PATTERN

Double 了: when both particles appear in one sentence

PATTERN

Keep going with Chinese grammar

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