了 — Verb-suffix le: marks the verb's action as carried through to completion.

grammar → 了

TSUMUGU · TBCL 2 (est.) · 語法

了 grammar point · tier 1 · V了₁ completed action (verb-suffix le)

· le

Verb-suffix le: marks the verb's action as carried through to completion.

Hook inherited from 了.

Verb-suffix le

框 · Frame

[subj] [verb] 了 [obj]

觸 · Trigger

You did something and it reached completion; you want to report the act as carried through.

序 · The move

1name the actor and the verbis this one bounded act, not an ongoing or habitual one?

2attach 了 directly behind the verbdoes 了 sit on the verb, not at the sentence's end?

3give the object weight: a quantity, modifier, or other specifying materialwould a bare object leave the sentence hanging, wanting more?

例 · Examples

1我昨天買buy了completed-action很多a lot of書book(s)。

Yesterday I bought a lot of books.

界 · Boundary

了2

V了₁ rides on the verb and marks the act completed; 了₂ sits at the sentence's end and marks a new situation now holding. Verb-back completion vs sentence-end change.

過

V了₁ reports one act carried through this time; 過 reports the act has happened at least once before, ever. One realized event vs ever-experienced.

了 at the wrong slot: 我昨天買很多書了 → 我昨天買了很多書

negated with 了: 我沒買了書 → 我沒買書

bare object left hanging: 我吃了飯 (as full reply) → 我吃了飯就走 / 我吃飯了

English speakers map 了 onto past tense and stamp it on every past verb; 了 marks completion of one bounded act, not time, and drops under negation with 沒.