对外汉语-了的位置及用法

1、了for completed actionsExercisesOther terminology: aspectual particle 了1. When should I use it?When you want to express that an action is completed. Normally了should be placed after main verbs or at the end of sentences.t他HEmi le买了BUYLEsn zhng pio三张 票THREE ZHANG TICKETSHe has bought 3 tickets.t她SHEbji

2、 n li le把酒 拿来 了BA WINETAKE (TOWARDS)LEShe has brought the wine.2. When should I place the了at the end of a sentence, and when should I place it after the main verb of a sentence?1. If the object of a sentence is a simple one i.e. a noun, which is not attached to a numberand measure word, and not atta

3、ched to a descriptive clause (的clause),了can be placed at the end of the sentence. In this case the particle了has many functions: it may indicate the completed action, or a change of situation, it may also indicate an imminent action.s. v. o. lewmen ch fn le我们吃饭了.WEEAT MEAL LEWehave eaten.Completed ac

4、tionNow we are eating.(We didnt eat before.) Change of situationWe are about to eat.(我们要吃饭了.)3. Is it incorrect if I place了after the verb in a simple-object sentence?No, it is not incorrect, but it seems as if the sentence is not yet finished. It may look like the first clause of theverb了.就.construc

5、tion. For example (Also see pattern 5.),tch le fn. (jiq kndinyng)他吃了饭. (就去看电影.)HEEAT LE MEAL. (JIU GO SEE FILM)After he finishes the meal.(hell go to see a film.)4. Can I place了at the end of a sentence that has a complex object?No. If the object of a sentence is a complicated one, i.e. it is precede

6、d by a number word and measure word, or a descriptive clause,了is placed after the main verb of the sentence.s. v. le num.mw. o.t ch le ling wn fn他吃了两碗 饭.HEEATLE TWO BOWLSRICEHe has eaten two bowls of rice.5. Where should I place了if a sentence has a time measure?If an action is attached to a time mea

7、sure (e.g., duration , length of time) or an action measure (e.g., many times),了is placed after the main verb. The following three alternative patterns share the same feature, that is, they have了after the main verbs.s. v. le tm.(am.)de o. (le)t他HExu le ling ninde zhngwn (le)学 了两年的中文 (了*)STUDY LE TWO

8、 YEAR DE CHINESE (LE)He studied Chinese for 2 years.s. v. o. v. le tm.(am.) (le)t xu zhngwn他学中文xu le ling nin (le)学了两年 (了)o. s.v. le tm.(am.) (le)zhngwn t中文他n ge dinyng w那个电影我xule ling nin (le)学了两年 (了)kn le ling bin (le)看了两遍 (了*)I have watched that film twice.n sh w nin qin de sh le wmensh du nin de

9、lo pngyou le那是五年前的事了. 我们是多年 的老朋友了.THAT IS FIVE YEAR AGO DE MATTER LE WE ARE MANY YEARS DE OLD FRIEND LEThat incident happened 5 years ago We have been old friend for many years.6. Is a time measure placed after了in a negative sentence?No, negative sentences of this kind are normally in a different wo

10、rd order. The time-measure should be placed before the negation没. For instance, if you want to say: I havent eaten Chinese food for ages. It should be in the following word order:s. tm. neg. v. o. lew我Iho ji好久LONG TIMEmi没NOTch zhnggu ci le吃中国菜了EAT CHINESE FOOD LEI havent eaten Chinese food for a lon

11、g time.7. Do I have to put the time-measures before没in all negative sentences?No. If you want to deny an affirmative statement which has a time-measure, then the time-measure should be placed after the main verb.s. neg. v. tm. o.w mi xu sn nin zhngwn, w zh xu le ling nin我没学三年中文,我只学了两年.I NOTLEARN3 YE

12、AR CHINESE, I ONLY LEARN LE 2 YEAR)I didnt learn Chinese for 3 years, I only did for 2 years.8. Do I have to put了after every verb in a sentence, if the sentence has a sequence of actions?If a sequence of actions in the sentence are completed,了is usually placed after the last verb of the sentence.s.

13、v.1 o.1 v.2 le (tm. ) o.2t他HEq zhnggu去中国GO CHINAxu le s nin jngj学 了四年 京剧STUDYLE FOUR YEAR PEKING OPERAHe went to China to study Peking opera for 4 years.t他HEq zhnggu去中国GO CHINAmi le c q买了瓷器BUY LE CHINAHe went to China and bought some China.If you leave了at the end of sentences, it normally indicates

14、a change of the situation. Lets compare the following two sentences:1. (Completed action) t q zhnggu xu le zhngwn 他去中国 学了中文. HE GO CHINA STUDY LE CHINESE He went to China and studied Chinese.2. (Change of situation) t q zhngguxuzhngwnle他去中国学中文了.HE GO CHINA STUDY CHINESELE He has gone to China to stu

15、dy Chinese. (Hes not here)9. Do I always have to place了after the last verb of a sentence when describing a sequence of actions?No. There is another sentence pattern, which indicates sequence of actions, but the first sequence in the sentence is conditional. In this sentence pattern了is placed after t

16、he first verb which is in the conditional clause, and the adverb就is placed before the second verb of the sentence. This kind of construction has a sense of urgency, which means that the action in the就clause takes place immediately after the completion of the first action.s. v.1 le o.1 jiu v.2 o.2t d

17、o le zhnggu ji zho pngyou.他到了中国就找 朋友.HE ARRIVE LE CHINAJIULOOK FOR FRIENDHell look for friend immediately after he arrives in China.As you can see, that sentence describes the action in future, but if you place another了at the end of the sentence, then it means that both actions have taken place.10.

18、Do I always have to use了to indicate a completed action?No, not always. First of all, the particle了for completed action is not used in negative sentences. Instead没should be placed before the main verb of the sentence.s. meiv. o.t mi ch fn.他没吃饭.HENOT EAT MEALHe didnt eat the meal.11. Apart from the ne

19、gation, are there any circumstances in which了is not used?In the following situations the particle了for completed actions is not used.1.了is not used for prolonged and regular actions in the past. In other words, if the sentence contains words such as每天,年年,常常. the particle了for the completed action is n

20、ot used.w yqin zi zhnggu jiosh我以前 在中国教书.I IN THE PASTINCHINA TEACHI taught in China in the past.qnin w chngchnggn w npngyouq kn dinyng去年我常常 跟我女朋友去看电影.LAST YEAR I OFTEN WITH MY GIRLFRIEND GO SEE FILMSLast year I often went to see films with my girlfriend.2.了is not used in sentences which have modal v

21、erbs such as应该,得(dei),可以,能,会,要,想, or for verbs which indicate feelings such as爱,喜欢,觉得,知道,愿意,肯.zutin n ynggiq kn t昨天你应该去看他.YESTERDAY YOUSHOULD GO SEE HIMYou shouldve gone to see him yesterday.sh nin yqin t hn xihunch fgu ci十年以前 她 很喜欢吃法国菜.TEN YEAR AGOSHE VERYLIKE EAT FRENCHFOODTen years ago she liked

22、eating French food very much.3.了is not used when是,在,有* are the main verbs of sentences.shng xnq t zi bijng上星期他在 北京.LAST WEEKHE WAS (IN) BEIJINGHe was in Beijing last week.yqin t yu hn du qin以前他 有 很 多钱.BEFORE HE HAD VERY MUCH MONEYIn the past he had a lot of money.If有(to posses) is used as the main v

23、erb of a sentence,了(for completed action) is not used. However,了can be used if the object of a sentence is an abstract one which has an implication of action, such as “development”, “improvement”他的学习有了很大的进步.He has improved greatly in his studies.4.了is not used for direct and indirect speeches.dir. s

24、peech zutin t wn w: n yo q zhnggu ma 昨天 他问我: 你要 去中国吗? YESTERDAY HE ASK ME: YOU WANT GO CHINA MA? Yesterday he asked me: Would you like to go to China?indir. speech zutin t wn w: yo q zhnggu ma 昨天他问我要 去中国吗. YESTERDAY HE ASK ME WANT GO CHINA MA Yesterday he asked me if I would like to go to China.As y

25、ou can see, in the situations when the completed action了is not used, time-words are used to indicate the actions happened in the past.12. Is it true that if I use a time-word I dont have to use了?No. Time-words are needed when the completed action了cannot be used. But time-words have no effect on了when

26、 the completed action了is applicable. zutin wq mi le ling bn sh昨天我去买了两本书.TESTERDAY I GO BUY LE TWOBEN BOOKYesterday I went out and bought two books.You cant say:zutin w q mi ling bn sh昨天我去买两本书.The above sentence sounds uncompleted. The listener would expect more and would ask, and then what?13. Are t

27、here any constructions that cannot take an aspectual particle了?The completed action了is not applicable to the following constructions.1. The V+得construction (the complement of degree)zutin t fn zude hn b cu昨天 他饭作得很不错YESTERDAY HE MEAL COOK DEVERYNOTBADYesterday he cooked meal very well.2. Description+

28、的(The verbs in the descriptive clause dont take了, as they are not the main verbs of sentences.)zutin w mi de n bn sh hn yu ysi昨天 我买的那 本书很 有意思.YESTERDAY I BUY DE THATBENBOOK VERY INTERESTINGThe book which I bought yesterday is very interesting.14. Do I always have to consider the use of了when I see a

29、past tense in an English sentence?No, not always. Remember: the了in this section is for completed actions, which is different from the past tense. Here is another example of a past tense English sentence which does not use the completed action了:qnin w fichng mng.去年我非常忙.LAST YEAR I VERY BUSYLast year

30、I was very busy.The wordbusyacts as a stative verb which does not take the particle了of completed action.ExercisesYou can submit your work online hereClick here for answersA. Place 了 in the right in the following sentences, and give your reasons if了is not needed.1.昨天我去_大使馆办_签证_.2.我已经请_小王看_两次电影 ,可是他还是那么不客气_.真气人_!3.上星期我去_北京看_朋友_.4.去年我常常在_路口的那家书店看_书.从来没有人管_我_.5.前天晚上我在_你那儿吃_饭的时候,我听见_她拉_小提琴拉_得真好听_.6.十年前我在_中国住_.7.我研究_计算机研究_四年_.8.那本书我已经看_三次_.B. Translate the following sentences into Chinese.1.Yesterday Xiao Wang asked me to borrow a Chinese newspaper from the library for him.