Completed Actions with 了

Add 了 right after the verb to show that an action is completed.

Once you can mark completion with 了, you can finally talk about things that already happened, not just things that are generally true.

Structure

Subject + Verb + 了 + Object

我吃米饭。 Wǒ chī mǐfàn. I eat rice. → 我吃了米饭。 Wǒ chī le mǐfàn. I ate rice.

When there's no modifier on the object (no number, no measure word), 了 often moves to the very end of the sentence instead:

我吃饭了。 Wǒ chīfàn le. (I ate. / I've eaten.)

Negative

Subject + 没(有) + Verb + Object (了 is dropped)

我没吃米饭。 Wǒ méi chī mǐfàn. I did not eat rice.

Question

Subject + Verb + Object + 了吗？

你吃饭了吗？ Nǐ chīfàn le ma? Have you eaten?

了 for a New Situation

Sentence-final 了 has a second job: marking a change of state — something that's true now and wasn't before. This can appear with no object, and even with no action verb at all.

下雨了。 Xià yǔ le. (It's raining now! / It started raining.) It wasn't raining, and now it is — 了 marks the change, not a completed action.

他是学生了。 Tā shì xuéshēng le. (He's a student now.) 是 has no endpoint to "complete," so this 了 signals a new situation, not aspect.

Examples

我吃饭了。 Wǒ chīfàn le.

Breakdown: 我 (I) · 吃饭 (eat) · 了 (completed action marker)

→ I ate. / I've eaten.

我买了一本书。 Wǒ mǎi le yì běn shū.

Breakdown: 我 (I) · 买了 (bought) · 一本 (one, measure word for books) · 书 (book)

→ I bought a book.

我到了学校。 Wǒ dào le xuéxiào.

Breakdown: 我 (I) · 到了 (arrived) · 学校 (school)

→ I arrived at school.

他喝了一杯茶。 Tā hē le yì bēi chá.

Breakdown: 他 (he) · 喝了 (drank) · 一杯 (one cup) · 茶 (tea)

→ He drank a cup of tea.

她看了一本书。 Tā kàn le yì běn shū.

Breakdown: 她 (she) · 看了 (read) · 一本 (one, measure word for books) · 书 (book)

→ She read a book.

我没吃米饭。 Wǒ méi chī mǐfàn.

Breakdown: 我 (I) · 没吃 (did not eat) · 米饭 (rice)

→ I did not eat rice.

你吃饭了吗？ Nǐ chīfàn le ma?

Breakdown: 你 (you) · 吃饭 (eat) · 了 (completed action marker) · 吗 (question particle)

→ Have you eaten?

我学习了中文。 Wǒ xuéxí le Zhōngwén.

Breakdown: 我 (I) · 学习了 (studied) · 中文 (Chinese)

→ I studied Chinese.

他回家了。 Tā huí jiā le.

Breakdown: 他 (he) · 回家 (go home) · 了 (completed action marker)

→ He went home.

我完成了作业。 Wǒ wánchéng le zuòyè.

Breakdown: 我 (I) · 完成了 (finished) · 作业 (homework)

→ I finished my homework.

妈妈来了，爸爸去了。 Māma lái le, bàba qù le.

Breakdown: 妈妈 (mom) · 来了 (came) · 爸爸 (dad) · 去了 (left)

→ Mom came; Dad left.

他做了饭。 Tā zuò le fàn.

Breakdown: 他 (he) · 做了 (made) · 饭 (food)

→ He made food. / He cooked.

Common Mistakes

Using 不 instead of 没 for a completed action

- Incorrect: 我不吃了米饭。 (Wǒ bù chī le mǐfàn.) - Correct: 我没吃米饭。 (Wǒ méi chī mǐfàn.) — I did not eat rice.

Using 了 with a future time word

- Incorrect: 我明天吃了饭。 (Wǒ míngtiān chī le fàn.) - Correct: 我明天吃饭。 (Wǒ míngtiān chīfàn.) — I will eat tomorrow.

What Can You Say Now?

You can now report anything you've already done — what you ate, bought, read, or studied — instead of only stating general facts. You can also ask other people whether they've done something yet, with 了吗. Try narrating your day so far out loud, one sentence at a time, adding 了 after each verb: 我喝了茶，我看了书 (I drank tea, I read a book).

Quick Summary

Put 了 right after the verb to show completion: 我吃了米饭。 (Wǒ chī le mǐfàn.) To say it didn't happen, use 没(有) and drop 了: 我没吃米饭。 (Wǒ méi chī mǐfàn.)