3 · Aspect: le, guo, zhe and zai
Two le in one sentence, and when to leave le out
the double le and the sentences without it
Verb-le plus sentence-le says that something has gone on up to now — and many past sentences need no le at all.
The two kinds of 了 can meet in one sentence, and together they say something neither says alone. 我学了三年汉语 is a closed chapter: “I studied Chinese for three years” — and perhaps stopped. 我学了三年汉语了 adds the final 了, which ties the three years to the present: “I have been studying Chinese for three years”, and still am.
The same works with any amount, which turns into a running total: 我喝了三杯 is “I drank three cups”, 我喝了三杯了 “I’ve had three cups so far”, and more may come. English needs a different tense for this (“have been doing”); Chinese adds one syllable at the end.
Just as important is knowing where 了 does not go. Habits and states take none, however far back they lie. A verb whose object is a whole clause or another verb — 说, 觉得, 决定, 打算 — normally takes no 了 directly after it: 他说他明天不来. And when two verbs follow each other, as in 去超市买菜, the 了 goes after the second, the one that carries the result: 我去超市买了一些菜.
A story in Chinese therefore uses far fewer 了 than an English story uses past tenses. Background, description and habit carry none; the particle marks the events that move the story on. A learner who puts 了 after every verb sounds as foreign as one who never uses it.
The form
| a closed chapter | 我学了三年汉语。 |
| up to now, and still going on | 我学了三年汉语了。 |
| a running total | 我喝了三杯了。 |
| no le after a verb of saying | 他说他明天不来。 |
| two verbs: le after the second | 我去商店买了一件衣服。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
Verb-le with a length of time and a final le says that the action has lasted that long up to now and is still going on.
我在这儿住了五年了。I have been living here for five years.
Without the final le, the same sentence describes a closed chapter.
我在上海住了五年，后来搬到了北京。I lived in Shanghai for five years and later moved to Beijing.
With a number, the final le means “so far”, and more may follow.
这本书我看了一百页了。I’m a hundred pages into this book.
When the object of a verb is a clause or another verb, le normally does not go directly after it.
她决定去国外留学了。She has decided to go and study abroad.
With two verbs in a row, le follows the second, the one that carries the result.
我去超市买了一些菜。I went to the supermarket and bought some vegetables.
A closer look
Why the final le means “up to now”
Sentence-final 了 presents a situation as the current state of affairs. Put it after an amount and the amount becomes a state of affairs too: “three years of Chinese, and that is where things stand now”. That is why the double 了 almost always comes with a length of time or a number — they are what can keep growing.
Verbs that describe a state or a single moment rather than an activity usually take only the final 了: 我们认识十年了, 她结婚三年了. With a single moment like getting married, the length of time counts from that moment, not how long the act itself took.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the verb has no object and ends the sentence
the two le merge into one, and only one is written.
饭我已经吃了。I’ve already eaten.
Both positions are the same spot: after the verb and at the end of the sentence. Chinese never writes 了 twice in a row.
How to spot it
- 了…了
- 已经…了
Example sentences
我等了你半个小时了！I’ve been waiting for you for half an hour!
他学了两年钢琴了。He has been learning the piano for two years.
他学了两年钢琴，后来不学了。He learned the piano for two years, then gave it up.
今天我已经喝了四杯咖啡了。I’ve already had four cups of coffee today.
我们认识十年了。We have known each other for ten years.
他说他明天不来。He said he isn’t coming tomorrow.
8 more example sentences
我来中国一年了。I’ve been in China for a year now.
雨下了一整天了。It has been raining all day.
他打了三次电话了，你快给他回个电话吧。He has phoned three times already — call him back.
作业我做了一半了，还有一半没做。I’ve done half the homework; the other half is still to do.
我去书店买了两本词典。I went to the bookshop and bought two dictionaries.
他在这家公司工作了十年，去年退休了。He worked at this company for ten years and retired last year.
她结婚三年了。She has been married for three years.
我以前住在农村，每天走路上学。I used to live in the countryside and walk to school every day.
Worth knowing (1)
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Time since, not time taken
After a verb that happens in a moment — 来, 到, 离开, 毕业, 结婚 — a length of time with a final le counts the time that has passed since it happened.
他离开家已经十年了。It is ten years now since he left home.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English “thought” is a past tense, so it feels as if 了 belongs after 觉得. But thinking is a state, and what follows is a whole clause — there is no action to complete. The past is said by 当时, “at the time”.
Le after the verb closes the action; a second le at the end brings it up to now.
Your turn
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