The position of aspect particles
4.12
4.12 The position of aspect particles
Mandarin indicates the aspect of an event; that is, the way that the event is viewed by the
speaker, with three different aspect particles, 了 le perfective, 着/著 zhe durative, and 过 guo
experiential. These aspect particles directly follow the verb (or, for the perfective particle
了 le, either the verb or verb + object phrase) and always occur in neutral tone. Sentences that
include the durative aspect particle 着/著 zhe often also include the words 在 zài or 正在
zhèng zài at the beginning of the verb phrase.
我已经吃饭了。
我已經吃飯了。
Wǒ yǐjing chī fàn le.
I’ve already eaten.
他们吃着饭呢。
他們吃著飯呢。
Tāmen chīzhe fàn ne.
They are eating.
你吃过中国饭吗？
你吃過中國飯嗎？
Nǐ chīguo Zhōngguó fàn ma?
Have you eaten Chinese food before?
C 17
