Chinese grammar - Past tense using the completed action marker 了 (le)

Past tense using the completed action marker 了 (le)

In Chinese, many verbs can be made past tense by simply appending the 'Completed Action Marker' 了 (le).

Note that there are other markers that can be added to further emphasize the completion of a specific action or task. We will see these in later topics.

Note also that 了 is not used in the negative - instead, 没有 (méiyǒu) is used. This will be covered in the next topic.

Examples:
	他来了。 tā lái le. He came.
	他出去了。 tā chūqù le. He exited.
	你长大了。 nǐ zhǎngdà le. You have grown up.
	灯关了。 dēng guān le. The light is off. 关 (guān) means 'to close' or 'to turn off'
	她毕业了。 tā bìyè le. She graduated. 毕业 (bìyè) means 'to graduate'
	我吃了一块饼干。 wǒ chī le yí kuài bǐnggān. I ate one biscuit. 块 (kuài) is a counter used for objects that are flat, chunky, or considered as a piece or a block of something
	我在湖里游泳了。 wǒ zài hú lǐ yóuyǒng le. I swam in the lake. 湖 (hú) means 'lake'
	他回家了。 tā huíjiā le. He went home.
	我洗澡了。 wǒ xízǎo le. I took a bath/shower. The tone changes from xǐ (3rd tone) to xí (2nd tone) when 洗 is followed by a 3rd tone such as in 洗澡 (xízǎo) 洗澡 (xízǎo) means 'to bathe' including 'to have a shower'
	她笑了。 tā xiào le. She laughed. 笑 (xiào) means 'to laugh' or 'to smile'
	昨天天气冷了。 zuótiān tiānqì lěng le. Yesterday, the weather was cold. Note the absence of the connector 很 (hěn) - here 冷 acts as a verb and 了 implies a change in state
	他们去年结婚了。 tāmen qùnián jiéhūn le. They got married last year. 去年 (qùnián) means 'last year' 结婚 (jiéhūn) means 'to get married'
	孩子们睡着了。 háizimen shuìzháo le. The children fell asleep. 睡着 (shuìzháo) means 'to fall asleep'
	我因为很热所以在湖里游泳。 wǒ yīnwèi hěn rè suóyǐ zài hú lǐ yóuyǒng. I swam in the lake because it was very hot.
	她上个周末去了海滩。 tā shàng#ge#zhōumò qù le hǎitān. She went to the beach last weekend. 上个周末 (shàng ge zhōumò) means 'last weekend'