了: a completed action
我买了两本书; 我没去 (no 了 in the negative). 了 marks completion, not just the past.
Part of the free A1 Chinese course (about HSK 1–2). Examples are in Simplified characters with pinyin; press the speaker to hear one with your device's Chinese voice.
Chinese verbs don't change
English changes the verb for the past: buy → bought. Chinese verbs never change. Time words (昨天 zuótiān, yesterday) tell you when, and the little word 了 (le, neutral tone) tells you an action happened and is done.
Verb + 了
Put 了 straight after the verb, especially when the object has a number or an amount:
- 我买了两本书。(Wǒ mǎi le liǎng běn shū.)I bought two books.
- 他喝了一杯咖啡。(Tā hē le yì bēi kāfēi.)He drank a cup of coffee.
- 昨天我们看了一个电影。(Zuótiān wǒmen kàn le yí gè diànyǐng.)Yesterday we saw a film.
If the object is just a bare noun (饭, 茶), or there's no object, put 了 at the end of the sentence instead: 我吃饭了 (wǒ chī fàn le) = I've eaten. 她到了 = She's arrived.
Questions
Add 吗, or end with 没有 (méiyǒu) = "or not":
- 你吃饭了吗？(Nǐ chī fàn le ma?)Have you eaten?
你吃饭了吗？ is also an everyday greeting, like "How are you?". You don't need to report your meals.
The negative: 没(有) + verb, and no 了
"Didn't" or "haven't" is 没 or 没有 before the verb, and 了 disappears: the action didn't happen, so there's nothing completed to mark. "Not yet" is 还没 (hái méi) or 还没有.
- 我没去学校。(Wǒ méi qù xuéxiào.)I didn't go to school.
- 她还没有来。(Tā hái méiyǒu lái.)She hasn't come yet.
了 is not a past tense
了 means "done", so many past sentences have no 了 at all:
| Past sentence | Why no 了 |
|---|---|
| 昨天很冷。(Zuótiān hěn lěng.) It was cold yesterday. | a description with an adjective |
| 我以前每天喝咖啡。(Wǒ yǐqián měi tiān hē kāfēi.) I used to drink coffee every day. | a habit, not one action |
| 我昨天没去。(Wǒ zuótiān méi qù.) I didn't go yesterday. | the negative |
- 昨天很冷。(Zuótiān hěn lěng.)It was cold yesterday.
Not every 了 marks a finished action. In 我饿了 (wǒ è le, "I'm hungry now") it marks a new situation: I wasn't hungry before. The 了 of 太好了 (Adjectives: 很 + adjective, no 是) is part of a fixed pattern. You'll meet these uses more at A2.
Common mistakes
我没去了。→ 我没去。No 了 after 没.我昨天不去学校。→ 我昨天没去学校。For something that didn't happen, use 没 (不 or 没: two ways to say 'not').我以前每天喝了咖啡。→ 我以前每天喝咖啡。A habit takes no 了.昨天很冷了。for "It was cold yesterday" → 昨天很冷。A plain description of the past needs no 了. (With a 了, the sentence is about a change: it had become cold.)
Practice
- 我喝_____一杯茶。(Wǒ hē ___ yì bēi chá.)Options: 了 (le) · 吗 (ma) · 的 (de)
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了 (le) — Verb + 了 + amount: a completed action.
- Rewrite in the negative: 我去了商店。(Wǒ qù le shāngdiàn.)
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我没去商店 — 没(有) before the verb, and 了 goes.
- Which sentence means 'I didn't eat breakfast'?Options: 我没吃早饭。(Wǒ méi chī zǎofàn.) · 我没吃了早饭。(Wǒ méi chī le zǎofàn.) · 我不吃了早饭。(Wǒ bù chī le zǎofàn.)
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我没吃早饭。(Wǒ méi chī zǎofàn.) — No 了 with 没.
- 他看_____三本书。(Tā kàn ___ sān běn shū.)
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