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Intermediate

The Particle 了

Completion and change of state

了 marks a completed action

Verb + 了 shows the action happened.

💬 Examples
我吃了。
Wǒ chī le.
I ate / I've eaten.
📝 Action completed
我买了一本书。
Wǒ mǎile yì běn shū.
I bought a book.
📝 了 after a verb with an object
Sentence-final 了 = change of state

了 at the end means 'now / a new situation'.

📊 Two uses of 了
Position Meaning Example
after the verb completed action 吃了
end of sentence change of state 下雨了
both completed + relevant now 吃了三个了
💬 Examples
下雨了。
Xià yǔ le.
It's raining (now).
📝 A new situation
我饿了。
Wǒ è le.
I'm hungry (now).
📝 Change of state
Negation removes 了

Negate a completed action with 没 and drop 了.

💬 Examples
我没吃。
Wǒ méi chī.
I didn't eat / haven't eaten.
📝 没 negates; no 了
他还没来。
Tā hái méi lái.
He hasn't come yet.
📝 还没 = not yet