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Grammar Notes for lesson 11

Aspectual marker 了 le with verbs

When placed after the main verb of a sentence the aspectual marker 了le is used to indicate that an action has been completed, as in 我 买 了 一 辆 自 行 车 wǒ mǎile yí liàng zìxíng chē I bought a bike.
The aspectual marker 了 le is not used in the following situations:
1. The aspectual marker 了le  is not used in the negative form, but instead 没 (有) méi(yǒu) is placed before the main verb. 我 没 买 新 车, 可 是 我 买 了 一 辆 旧 车 wǒ méi mǎi xīnchē, kěshì wǒ mǎi le yí liàng jiù chē I didn’t buy a new bike, but I bought an old one.
2. When 是 shì to be, 在 zài to be in or 有 yǒu to have are used as the main verbs of a sentence, the aspectual marker 了le is not used with them. 去 年 我有 一 辆 很 好 的 车 qùnián wǒ yǒu yí liàng hěn hǎo de chē last year I had a very good bike.
3. If a sentence contains a modal verb, the aspectual marker 了 le is not used. 去 年 我 想 买 一辆 车 qùnián wǒ xiǎng mǎi yí liàng chē last year I wanted to buy a bike.
4. The aspectual marker 了 le is not used in the ‘complement of degree’ construction. 昨 晚 他 饭 作 得 很 好 zuó wǎn tā fàn zuò de hěn hǎo last night he cooked very well.
5. The aspectual marker 了 le  is not used for those verbs which indicate direct and indirect speech. 他 上 个 月 说 要 来 看 我 tā shàng ge yuè shuō yào lái kàn wǒ he said last month that he would visit me.
6. The aspectual marker 了 is not used in attributive clauses. 我 昨 天 买 的 车 wǒ zuótiān mǎi de chē the bike which I bought yesterday.

(See lessons 10 and 14)

The modal particle了 le implying change of situation

了 le can be placed at the end of a sentence to imply a change of situation or to imply that something is no longer in the same state as it was. 我 不 是 老 师 了 wǒ bú shì lǎoshī le I am no longer a teacher. 夏 天 了 xiàtiān le it’s summer now. 他 好 多 了 tā hǎo duō le he is much better now.