When 了 (le) is NOT Needed for Completed Actions in Chinese
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- Опубліковано 28 чер 2024
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➞ In this study guide, you’ll learn 8 key points about when not to use 了 for completed actions in Mandarin. You'll gain a better understanding of when the use of 了 is either incorrect or can be omitted, helping you use Mandarin more naturally and confidently!
⚡️ Time code:
00:00 Is 了 Always Needed for Completed Action?
01:04 Introduction of 了
02:30 When 了 is Not Needed
07:40 Challenge Time
08:35 Some Words For You
09:16 Thank you for watching to the end!
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📝 Master the use of 了: gracemandarin.gumroad.com/l/bcugd
➞ In this study guide, you’ll learn 8 key points about when not to use 了 for completed actions in Mandarin. You'll gain a better understanding of when the use of 了 is either incorrect or can be omitted, helping you use Mandarin more naturally and confidently!
-
Answer:
If the speaker wants to emphasize the occurrence of the event, here is where 了 is likely to be used:
A.
昨天他帶弟弟去看了電影 (Traditional)
昨天他带弟弟去看了电影 (Simplified)
He took his (younger) brother to see a movie yesterday.
Explanation: 了 tends to come after the last verb
B.
他來我家吃了晚餐
他来我家吃了晚餐
He came to my house to have dinner.
Explanation: The event “來我家/来我家 to come to my house” hasn’t finished in your story line. He was still in your house when eating dinner, so 了 is not used after 來. (Plus, this also follows the tendency of 了 coming after the last verb)
C.
他幫我跟老師請了假
他帮我跟老师请了假
He helped me ask the teacher for time off. （請假/请假：to take time off）
Explanation: 了 tends to come after the last verb
感谢老师！
@@RiceRoon 不客氣（不客气）！😉
老师，if I say these sentences without using 了 at all (昨天他带弟弟去看电影，他来我家吃晚餐，他帮我跟老师请假), does the meaning change? Sometimes I see sentences describing past actions without any 了 in them.
我認為''了''像是一種語助詞，表達事情已經完成。身為母語者用外國人的角度看中文真的好有趣
但我好像也會說 我昨天帶了弟弟去看電影，但分辨不出哪裡不一樣。
@@SR-kh6yq Hi! That's a really good question! If 了 is not used, there are three possible reasons:
(1) The whole sentence is serving as background information in your story. Instead of being the main event the speaker wants the listener to focus on, it’s just some background details. For example: 昨天他帶弟弟去看電影，弟弟非常喜歡那部電影。(昨天他带弟弟去看电影，弟弟非常喜欢那部电影。) “Yesterday, he took his younger brother to see a movie, and his brother really liked it.”
- The important information the speaker wants to convey is that the brother really liked the movie he watched yesterday, and the first sentence is just serving as background details.
(2) When we're telling a story, 了 is important to move the story forward (one thing is completed, and the next thing happens). However, in a context that doesn't require the speaker to emphasize the occurrence or completion of the action, 了 is often not used:
A: 你昨天帶弟弟去哪裡？(你昨天带弟弟去哪里？) "Where did you take your younger brother yesterday?"
B: 哦！我昨天帶弟弟去看電影，怎麼了？(哦！我昨天带弟弟去看电影，怎么了？) "Oh! I took my younger brother to the movies yesterday. Why do you ask?"
(A is asking for some information, and in this context, it's unnecessary to emphasize the occurrence or completion of the action)
I've talked about this in my PDF file (linked in the first comment) and provided some other examples.
(3) It’s in formal writing or news reports where the personal point of view is limited, and the particle 了 is used less frequently. I also discussed this in the PDF file above and provided a news article as an example.
I hope this helps!
(Edit: I added some additional information and changed an example sentence to better illustrate the point)
I think because tense in English is obligatory, we think 了 is obligatory too; i.e., we mistakenly believe if we don't use 了 when something is completed, then it's wrong.
Yes it's a common misconception! While 了 is often seen as similar to the past tense in English, it's actually used differently and has its own unique functions.
Yes, I am not a native speaker of Chinese but I was yelled at once by a non-native Chinese teacher (not mine, just someone online) for not using 了. I tried to explain the rules of 了 and she got really angry and bullied me online until I had to block her. Some people get really weird over grammar rules. 😅
I like the videos of this channel, because Grace explains all too well. Then the phrases are in simplified and tradicional version, with pinyin and zhuyin, so we can choose.🎉🎉🎉 Thanks a lot
Thanks for this video ! People always say Mandarin grammar is easy, or even worse, it doesn't have grammar (which doesn't make any sense). To me, Mandarin grammar's hardest aspect is that it's not "fixed" as it would be for European languages that require very precise grammar. It seems way more flexible and the use of 了 is a perfect example. Most teachers explain how to use it, but you are the first who explains when NOT to use it. That's really amazing !
Thank you for your kind words! 🥰
This is so eye opening!
Nice vídeo!
Please make one talking about verbs that DO NOT take 了 to indicate completed actions, like 喜欢，有，是，etc.
Haha I’ve actually covered some of this in my PDF file (linked in the first comment). Thank you for discussing this topic with me last time and giving me the inspiration!
I have seen native speakers follow 有 and 在 with 了 before.
Wow, this is very helpful. Even though I'm ethnic Chinese (another nationality) and speak Mandarin, there's a tendency to be influenced by English or Westerners who speak Mandarin saying that 了 = past tense, when in my mind I know it's not. It's actually an East and South East Asian feature, unlike those of the western languages with obligatory past tense formation.
I also love that you took the trouble to put both Pinyin and Zhuyin, and even Chinese and Taiwanese pronunciation, this wins my heart as I'm learning Taiwanese Mandarin standard and Zhuyin.
Keep it up. ❤
Thank you. I didn't really get that in my 汉语 classes, now I understand it better.
Oh…I’ve wondered about this topic before. I think I understand it better now! Thanks! Also, best of luck with your master’s thesis💪I really appreciate your hard work making all these videos even when you’re busy with studies. I’m also studying, but I don’t think I could do that haha
Haha thank you Josh! 🥰
Perfect explanation! Simple, concise and accurate. 👍🏻
有趣、非常感謝。
I want to be friends with backwards hat Grace (3:52) lol.
辛苦了老师🙏🙏
谢谢老师，现在知道怎么用得好「了」字。
這部影片非常有幫助喔！
這麼用心製作的pdf.當然download了以作支持
謝謝 Joseph! 而且你還是用原價買 謝謝你🥺✨
Can you give an example where 昨天 and 了 are used in the same sentence please?
Thank's a lot , great .
xièxie.
So 了 is kind of like the word “already”?
Grace記得注意保暖.氣質女孩😍
2:14 Is this usage something like saying : i will arrive-le tomorrow at the restaurant (le = and then after that action of arriving is completed) i will let you know?
Yeah, you explained it quite well! When there is no "之後/之后" or "以後/以后" (after) to indicate the sequence of actions, 了 is often used to organize the order of events, indicating which action happens first and which follows.
For example, you can say:
上了車跟我說。（Simplified: 上了车跟我说）
上車以後跟我說。（上车以后跟我说）
上車之後跟我說。（上车之后跟我说）
All of these mean "Let me know after you get in the car". I hope this helps!
@@GraceMandarinChinese Oohh, i see. Thanks Grace~. You are awesome!
@8:00 影片中的第二個 "了" 標錯地方了, 放在 "去" 跟 "看" 之間了.
Can you explain the relation between 就 and 了?
Most sentences that use 就 seem to use 了, but sometimes they don't. From what I've observed, if 就 is temporal （我明天就會看到你了）, it usually takes on 了, but if it's explanatory（他就是我爸爸） or confrontational (我就不是！）then it doesn't. Similarly, sentences with 才 often don't take on 了, despite 才 implying completed action（我昨天很晚才睡覺（了））. Is this a rule, or a habit?
One of the common usages of 就 is to emphasis the following text，if that text is good to use “了”, then you will see “就... 了”pairs. Both 就and了follow many grammar rules, it's quite complicated and even Chinese speakers can't tell all the scenarios of using 就and 了。
I have to say how we use them 【就是】 base on the nuance 😂： “了”shows the completion of an verb；“就”is like “if a， then b”or “whatever the condition is... ”those kind of sense 😂.
Hi Grace, I was wondering why are there two 了 in the following sentence? 我学中文学了几年了
I think the 了 at the end of that sentence is the indicator of the changing of the situation about learning progress. But im not sure
great class. can you explain the present perfect and past perfect.
了其實與其說是過去式，其實比較像完成式。如果沒有要強調完成，可以完全不加了。
3:23 那位住朋友家聊了很多的男同學的名字叫潘安嗎?
很帥嗎 謝謝😎
1- 走天他带第第去了看电影
2- 他来我家吃了晚餐
3- 他帮我跟老师请了家
Another place where le isn't needed: when people say "Wǒ hǎo lè" 😂(instead of 我好熱 Wǒ hǎo rè)
That's more of a pronunciation issue haha! We can work on that another day. 🤓
@@GraceMandarinChinese Haha, yes, I was joking, but that really is something that we hear sometimes! People--more often children from what I've heard--sometimes also don't curl their tongue for words like 肉 Ròu. By the way, good luck with your thesis work!
1. 昨天他帶了弟弟去看電影。
2. 他來我家吃了晚餐。
3. 他幫了我跟老師請個假。
check pinned comment those dont sound right imo
@@rawcopper604 nah these are also correct to me (a native) and he/she even advanced out by adding a "個" for the "假" 👍
Ecclesiastes 7:3
Sorrow is better than laughter; it may sadden your face, but it sharpens your understanding.
Proverbs 14:13
Laughter might hide your sadness. But when the laughter is gone, the sadness remains.
If you want to know the Truth follow Jesus.
ありがとう、グレースちゃん。