2 · Aspect: le, guo, zhe and zai
Méi and méiyǒu: it did not happen
the negative of completed actions
To say that something did not happen, put méi or méiyǒu before the verb — and drop le.
没 or 没有 before a verb says that the action did not take place: 我没去, “I didn’t go”, 他没有来, “he didn’t come”. The two forms mean the same; 没有 is a little fuller, 没 more common in quick speech. The 了 of the positive sentence disappears: 了 says the action happened, 没 says it did not, and the same action cannot be both. (A sentence-final 了 of change can still close the sentence after a length of time — 他三天没来了, “he hasn’t been here for three days” — because it is about the situation, not the action.)
The difference from 不 is not one of time but of kind. 不 is the negative of habits, wishes, decisions and states: 我不去 is “I am not going” or “I won’t go” — a decision. 没 reports a fact: it did not happen, or has not happened. English “didn’t” covers both, which is why English speakers tend to use 没 for everything in the past. But a past state is still negated with 不: 我那时候不知道, “I didn’t know at the time”.
To ask whether something happened, put 吗 or 没有 at the end: 你吃饭了吗？, 你吃饭了没有？. The answers are 吃了 or 没吃 — or simply 没有.
Only 了 leaves; the other markers stay. 过 keeps its place in the negative: 我没去过上海, “I have never been to Shanghai”. Result complements stay too: 我没听懂, “I didn’t understand”.
The form
| it happened | 我买票了。 |
| it did not happen | 我没买票。 |
| the fuller form | 我没有买票。 |
| asking | 你买票了没有？ |
| the short answer | 没有。 |
| guo stays | 我没去过上海。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
Méi or méiyǒu goes before the verb, and le is dropped.
他昨天没来上课。He didn’t come to class yesterday.
Bù refuses or describes; méi reports that something did not happen.
他请我去，可是我没去。He invited me, but I didn’t go.
A state is negated with bù even in the past: knowing, wanting, liking, being.
我那时候不知道这件事。I didn’t know about this at the time.
Guo stays after méi; the le of the action goes.
我没吃过北京烤鸭。I’ve never had Peking duck.
A question can end in méiyǒu: did it happen or not?
你看完了没有？Have you finished reading it?
A closer look
Why méi and the le of an action do not mix
了 and 没 are two answers to the same question: did it happen? 我买票了 says yes, 我没买票 says no. In that sense 没 is itself the negative of 了, and keeping both would be like answering “yes no”.
The longer form shows where 没 comes from: 没有 is also the verb “not to have”. 我没有去 is, at bottom, “there is no going of mine” — the action is simply absent from the record. That is why 没 belongs to facts and 不 to will and habit.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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没有 is the verb “not to have” with a noun after it
a final le is fine and means “has run out” or “is no longer there”.
冰箱里没有牛奶了。There’s no milk left in the fridge.
Here 了 is the sentence-final particle of change: there was milk, and now there is none. What is impossible is a negated action with 了, not 没 and 了 in one sentence as such.
How to spot it
- 没
- 没有
- 还没
- …了没有？
Example sentences
我今天没吃早饭。I didn’t have breakfast today.
她没有告诉我。She didn’t tell me.
昨天的会你去了没有？Did you go to yesterday’s meeting?
我给他打了电话，可是他没接。I phoned him, but he didn’t pick up.
钥匙我没拿，在桌子上。I didn’t take the keys — they’re on the table.
我没听懂，请你再说一遍。I didn’t understand — could you say it again, please?
8 more example sentences
他一晚上都没睡好。He didn’t sleep well all night.
我没有带伞，全身都湿了。I didn’t bring an umbrella and got soaked.
这次考试我没考好。I didn’t do well in this exam.
他说要来，可是最后没来。He said he would come, but in the end he didn’t.
我找了半天，也没找到。I searched for ages but didn’t find it.
你给妈妈打电话了没有？Have you rung Mum?
那天我身体不舒服，所以没去上班。I wasn’t feeling well that day, so I didn’t go to work.
他从来没迟到过。He has never once been late.
Worth knowing (1)
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Yǒu before a verb
In Taiwan and in much of southern China people also say 我有去, “I did go”, as the positive of 我没去. Standard mainland Mandarin does not: there the positive is 我去了. You will hear the other form; use the standard one.
我去了，可是他没去。I went, but he didn’t.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English keeps the past in a negative sentence (“went” becomes “didn’t go”), so it seems natural to keep 了 as well. But 了 is not the past; it says that the action took place — and that is exactly what 没 denies. The two cancel each other, so 了 goes.
Méi says it did not happen, and le leaves with it.
Your turn
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