Chinese grammar - Negating the past tense using 没 (méi) or 没有 (méiyǒu)

Negating the past tense using 没 (méi) or 没有 (méiyǒu)

In Chinese, when negating a past tense phrase, we use the couplet 没有 (méiyǒu). This is often shortened to just 没 (méi).

In this case, the completed action marker 了 (le) is omitted.

Both 没 (méi) and 没有 can be used. 没 alone is more informal, while 没有 is more formal and emphatic.

Examples:
	他没来。 tā méi lái. He didn't come.
	他没出去。 tā méi chūqù. He didn't go out.
	你没长大。 nǐ méi zhǎngdà. You didn't grow up.
	灯没关。 dēng méi guān. The light wasn't turned off.
	她没毕业。 tā méi bìyè. She didn't graduate.
	我没吃一块饼干。 wǒ méi chī yí kuài bǐnggān. I didn't eat a biscuit.
	不，我没有吃那块饼干。 bù,#wǒ méi yǒu chī nà kuài bǐnggān. No, I did not eat that biscuit. Empathic use of 没有 rather than just 没
	我没在湖里游泳。 wǒ méi zài hú lǐ yóuyǒng. I didn't swim in the lake.
	他没回家。 tā méi huíjiā. He didn't go home.
	我没洗澡。 wǒ méi xǐzǎo. I didn't take a bath.
	她没笑。 tā méi xiào. She didn't laugh.
	天气没冷。 tiānqì méi lěng. The weather wasn't cold.
	他们没有结婚。 tāmen méi yǒu jiéhūn. They didn't get married.
	孩子们没睡着。 háizimen méi shuìzháo. The children didn't fall asleep.