indicating that an action did not occur in the past
37.3
我已经吃晚饭了。
我已經吃晚飯了。
Wǒ yǐjing chī wǎnfàn le.
I already ate dinner.
Q: 那件事，你什么时候做完？
那件事，你甚麽時候做完？
Nà jiàn shì, nǐ shénme shíhòu zuòwán?
When will you finish that matter?
A: 我已经做完了。
我已經做完了。
Wǒ yǐjing zuòwán le.
I’ve already finished.
37.2 Talking about sequence with perfective 了 le
To indicate that two actions occur in sequence, follow the first action verb with 了 le.
他吃了饭就走。
他吃了飯就走。
Tā chī le fàn jiù zǒu.
He will eat and then leave. (After he eats, he will leave.)
As the translation of this sentence indicates, this sentence refers to a sequence that will take
place in the future: 了 le indicates that 吃 chī ‘eat’ occurs before 走 zǒu ‘leave.’
To indicate that a sequence of events is complete, follow the second verb or the object of the
second verb with 了 le.
他吃了饭就走了。
他吃了飯就走了。
Tā chī le fàn jiù zǒu le.
After he ate, he left.
学生做完了功课就交给老师了。
學生做完了功課就交給老師了。
Xuésheng zuòwán le gōngkè jiù jiāo gěi lǎoshī le.
After the students finished their work they handed it to the teacher.
These sentences have two instances of 了 le. The one that follows the first verb indicates
sequence. The one that follows the second verb or its object indicates that the sequence is
complete, and by implication, past.
37.3 Indicating that an action did not occur in the past
To indicate that an action did not occur in the past, negate the verb with 没/沒 méi or
没有/沒有 méi yǒu. Do not use 不 bù as the marker of negation, and do not use 了 le after
the verb when talking about an action that did not occur.
我寒假没回家。
我寒假沒回家。
Wǒ hánjià méi huí jiā.
I didn’t go home for winter break.
我昨天一天都没看见他。
我昨天一天都沒看見他。
Wǒ zuótiān yī tiān dōu méi kànjian tā.
I didn’t see him at all yesterday.
