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LEARN + CHINESE / 25 of 300 HSK 1

Done, Changed, Still Happening 了

Dinner is over, so you tell your friend 我吃了饭. A moment later, the weather changes: 天冷了. The verb itself hasn’t changed tense; 了 presents the meal as complete in the first sentence and the cold as a new situation in the second. For an action still underway, put 在 or 正在 before the verb.

Examples

我吃了饭。
Wǒ chī le fàn.
I’ve eaten.
天冷了。
Tiān lěng le.
It has become cold.
他正在看书呢。
Tā zhèngzài kàn shū ne.
He is reading right now.
Hint · 힌트
了 does not simply mean “past.” Compare an event marker after the verb with sentence-final 了, which often signals a change.

Vocabulary

ChineseEnglish
le
(particle for completion)
zài
at; in; (progressive)
zhèngzài
in the process of
ne
(particle)
chī
to eat
fàn
rice; meal
tiān
sky; day
lěng
cold
kàn
to look; read
shū
book
zuò
to do; make
dú
to read
xiě
to write
tīng
to listen
shuō
to speak; say
shuì
to sleep
gōngzuò
to work; job
xuéxí
to study
yǔ
rain
děng
to wait

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