The use of to imply completed action

Position of in a sentence

Examples in Chinese
/ /

Meaning in English
I sat for half an hour./Ive only said one sentence./He has sold off all his books. Please go after the meal. or please dont go until you have eaten. He left after he had finished the meal.

After verb After first verb After first & last verb After last verb

End of sentence*

He went to the canteen again and bought a bowl of dumplings She has finished learning Chinese. She has gone to China. She has gone to Shanghai to visit a friend.
Meaning in English

for completed
action is not used with:

Examples in Chinese

1. negation 2. habitual action

//

I didnt do the exercises. I (often) / (always) went to a restaurant (everyday) last year. I should have gone to see her yesterday. She loved / liked beef in the past. I could speak ten languages when I was little. He wanted to treat me to a meal yesterday. I knew (as early as) last week that they were going abroad. He hoped (as early as) two years ago that he would go to China. I was in China last year. I was a student last year. I only had two Chinese friends last year.

3. modal verbs and verbs expressing feeling : , / , , , , , , , , , , 4. , , when acting as the main verb in a sentence 5. stative verbs 6. direct speech, indirect speech 7. The construction 8. The clause

I was very busy last month She said a few days ago that she would help me to do the exercises. He sang very beautifully a minute ago. The shoes that I bought yesterday are damaged.

Modal particle
The use of to bring the time up to the present used at the end of a sentence implies that a sustained action extends to the present Xiao Wang has been waiting for her for ten years. Weve been friends for many years. It happened ten years ago.

The use of to emphasize an action which has taken place After the verb & at the end of the sentence At the end of the sentence Ive BOUGHT the ticket. She has already DRUNK the wine. Her Chinese is MUCH better than mine.

The use of to imply a change of situation At the end of the sentence I am not going. (I have changed my mind.) Its summer now; so its hot. She has recovered from the illness. He has learnt how to smoke. OK, forget it, we are not going to talk about

this. This car is already an old model.

The use of to imply imminent action ... ... ... ... ... ... We are about to eat. The film is about to start. She is about to cry. We are about to have examinations. The train is about to leave. We are about to finish our (work) shift.

The use of to imply excessiveness ... ... ... She is extremely beautiful. Its disgusting (to eat). He is extremely funny (interesting / lovable).

* These sentences can also imply a change of situation. Please see modal particle

The use of as a modal particle

1. What else can be used for, apart from for indicating a completed action? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. may also be used in the following situations. To emphasize an action which has already taken place. To indicate excessiveness. To indicate change. To indicate imminent action. As a resultative complement of (completion) or (to get rid of something).

The use of to emphasize actions that have already taken place

2. How is used for emphasis? can be used for emphasizing an action that has been completed. 1. To emphasize a single action, two can be used: one after the verb and the other at the end of the sentence.

w yjng
I ALREADY PUT

fng

le tng le .

LE SUGAR LE

I've already PUT the sugar in.

w yjng
I ALREADY

ch gu []
EAT [GUO] LE MEAL LE

le fn .

le

I've already EATEN.

Without emphasis, it would be or . (), or . 2. To emphasize direct or indirect speech, can be placed after the verb , , and .

w yjng

gn t

shu le xu

hny ynggi ynggng

.

I ALREADY TO HIM SAY LE STUDY CHINESE SHOULD DILIGENT.

I've already SAID to him that he should work hard on (his) Chinese.

is not normally used for completed direct and indirect speech. Without the emphasis it would be: . 3. To emphasize a sequence of actions, an additional is placed after the emphasized verb.

q nin

t qng

le

w ch le w dn fn .

LAST YEAR HE INVITE LE

ME EAT LE FIVE DUN MEALS

Last year he INVITED me to eat five Chinese meals.

zutin

t q

le xio wng

ji

li

le

n bn sh

YESTERDAY, HE GO LE XIAO WANG'S HOME BRING BACK LE THAT BEN BOOK

Yesterday he WENT Xiao Wang's place and brought that book back.

Without the emphasis, for completed action should be placed after the last verb of the sentence:
. .

3. Can be used to emphasize negative actions? cannot be used to emphasize negation. The adverb is placed before the negatives or to emphasize the negation.

w bng mi gn t shu xu
I

zhngwn di

ynggng

BING NOT TO HER SAY LEARN CHINESE MUST DILIGENT

I did not (at all) say to her that one must work hard at Chinese.

4. Can be used to emphasize stative verbs or complements of degree? No, cannot be used to emphasize stative verbs or the complement of degree construction. However, it can be used with the stative verb , and with ( in the comparative construction).

du

le

t de zhngwn b w ho

du .

le

,
SHE DE CHINESE

CORRECT LE

BI I GOOD VERY MUCH LE

Thats right, her Chinese is very much better than mine. The use of to express excessiveness

5. How is used to express excessiveness? is often placed at the end of expressions which indicate excessiveness, such as its too cold, its extremely difficult, its really hot. See the following patterns:

stative verb stative verb stative verb

Sometimes there is no in a expression. Why is that?

Among the above expressions, is the only one which can be used without . But if is omitted, the tone of voice can be rather rough. In colloquial Chinese, can be omitted to show that the situation is slightly different from the one which the speaker expected. or (a little) are placed after , in a ()... sentence.

zh jin yfu

ti

d le ydinr

ge wnt

ti

nn

le ydinr

() ().

()

THIS JIAN CLOTHING (TOO) BIG LE A LITTLE

THAT GE QUESTION (TOO) HARD LE A LITTLE

This jacket is a little too big.

That question is a little too difficult.

6. Can be the following expressions be placed before nouns: stative verb ; stative verb ; and stative verb ? No, they cannot be used as adjectives in sentences. also gives a sense of the end of a sentence, so the above expressions are only used as stative verbs or complements of degree in sentences. In other words they cannot be placed before , but should be placed at end of sentences or clauses. One cannot say . . . One should say: the rice is too cold, that book he wrote is too difficult, its extremely hot. 7. Can the above three expressions have negative forms? The negation can be placed before and after , but cannot take the negative form. If the negation is used, should be left out.

fn

ti lng

tinqi

b .

RICE NOT TOO COLD

WEATHER REALLY NOT HOT

The rice is not too cold.

The weather is not really hot.

If appears at the end of a negative sentence , it indicates change: the rice is not too hot any more.
The use of to express a change of situation

8. When do I use for a change of situation, and where does it go in a sentence? If the modal particle is used to indicate change it should always be placed at the end of a sentence. It can be used in the following situations. 1. To indicate a change in the weather, in seasons or in time.

chntin le .
SPRING LE.

tinqi

nunhu le

sn din .

bn le

.
WEATHER WARM LE

THREE O'CLOCK HALF LE

It's spring (now).

The weather is getting warm.

It's half past three.

As you can see from the above sentences, can also be placed after a noun (for the weather, seasons or time), and after a stative verb. 2. To indicate a change of situation, is placed at the end of a sentence.

xinzi w b sh losh .

le

xinzi rn .

du le

NOW

I NOT BE TEACHER LE

NOW

PEOPLE MANY LE

I'm not a teacher any more.

Now there are many people.

9. Are the functions of always clear in sentences? Yes, they should always be clear. But sometimes can have many implications, with the result that ambiguous meanings are then unavoidable. In particular, when is placed at the end of a sentence there may be a grey area where it is hard to differentiate between the for change of situation and the for completed action.

xio wng li

le

wmen ch fn .
WE EAT MEAL LE

le

XIAOWANG COME LE

Wang has come.

We have eaten.

(Completed action.)
Now Wang is coming.

(Completed action.)
We're about to eat.

(Change of situation.)

(Imminent action.)
Now we are eating the meal. [We were eating fruit before.]

It is important to add appropriate words to clarify what you want to say. . We've eaten. . We're about to eat. . Now we are eating our meal.
The use of to indicate an imminent action.

10. How many sentence patterns can be used to indicate imminent action? The following are the most commonly used "frame-patterns".

1. 2. 3.

..., (...) ..., ..., .... ..., ....

The action which is about to happen is framed by these patterns. The possible elements which can be framed within these patterns are time words, verb-object phrases and verbs.

kuiyo sh din .

le

jiyo

xi

k .

le

jikui .

le

NEARLY 10 O'CLOCK LE

NEARLY FINISH CLASS LE

NEARLY CRY LE

Nearly 10 o'clock.

The class is about to finish.

(Somebody) is about to cry.

11. Do these expressions indicate the same degree of urgency? Yes, they indicate the same degree of urgency.
The use of as a resultative complement.

is not only used as a particle to indicate that an action has been completed, but can also imply completion, and getting rid of something by acting as a resultative complement in a sentence. In this usage has two functions: one is as a resultative complement; and the other is as a particle for completed action.

t b dngxi du mi rng le
SHE BA THINGS ALL SELL LE

le

t b ji
HE BA WINE DRINK LE

le

t b sh

HE BA BOOK THROW LE

She has sold everything.

He's drunk up all the wine.

He's thrown away the book.

All the above sentences have a sense of getting rid of something, as with the resultative complement .

t b wn

le

b gngk .

zu le

.
HE BA BOWL WASH LE

SHE BA HOMEWORK DO LE

He has done the washing up. She has done her homework.

Both the above sentences have a sense of completion, as with the resultative complement .

Exercises
Translate the following sentences into Chinese.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Mr. Wang does Chinese paintings extremely well. It's too difficult to learn Chinese. The most difficult thing is to remember it all. The food she cooked yesterday was good, but she made too much. It's too late today. Shall we do it tomorrow? The book she bought yesterday was not too expensive, but the one I bought today was much too much. It's almost news time. Shall we watch the news in a minute? We are almost in Beijing. Now you can see the Great Wall of China in the distance. A: This term will soon be over. Where are you going in the holidays? B: What holiday? I dont have holidays. I always work. 9. A: The exam results are coming out soon. Then we'll see who is the best student.

B: Just because a student has achieved a good result doesn't necessarily mean that student is the best one. 10. I have finished my exam. I don't have to read "Practical Chinese Reader" any more! 11. It's already 10:30. Ill be late for my lesson. 12. Mr. Li is getting old, and can't see properly. Can you help him? 13. I have to fetch a friend from the airport. Can you tell Mr. Wang that I will not be able to attend his lesson? 14. I have already told him that I don't like his food. How many more times should I tell him? 15. Last night I did a great many grammar exercises. I'm not going to do any more tonight.

Answers for the use of as a modal particle Exercises

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

. .. ,. . ? , . . ? .. A:.? B:?..

9.

A:.. B:, .

. 11. .. 12. ,.? 13. . ? 14. .? 15. ..

10. ,