Confusing Chinese (part 2)
As I mentionend in the first installment of "Confusing Chinese", I get quite a lot of corrections of my use of 了 le. le is one of those small words that are used a lot, in many confusing ways. Sometimes I write it and people comment that it should be omitted, but more often I omit it and people say it is lacking.
My grammar book, 《现代汉语语法教程》by 丁崇明， mentions quite a lot of uses or meanings for 了. It can be placed after the verb or the adjective to show that the action is finished. It can be placed after the entire sentence (or phrase), and have the same meaning. If it's placed after the entire sentence it could also mean that a new situation has arised. In additon, the sentence-final 了 could be there just for the tone, to make the sentence more narrative or more lika a request.
The book also mentions three special uses or patterns with 了, that I will list beneath.
1. 了 is often added after words describing something in an order (I'm sure there is a special word for this, but I can't think of any). For example 星期五了，which can be translated as "it's already Friday".
2. 了 is added to sentence that contain 就要/快要.
The pattern is: 就要/快要 + rest of the sentence + 了
3. There is a pattern with two 了 and in the middle there is a period of time. In this case, the meaning is "uptil now".
Pattern: Verb + 了 + period of time + noun if applicable + 了
This sounds very complicated, but actually, most students of Chinese learn this pattern very early, saying things like:
我学了八个月中文了, meaning I've been studying Chinese for eight months (uptil now).
study is the verb, eight months is the time period, and Chinese is the noun.
Well, that's fine, but where do I make mistakes? Let's analyze a few of my sentences.
1. original sentence: 她太累了，没有听到现在到了哪站
corrected sentence: 她太累了，没有听到现在到哪个站了
translation: she was too tired and didn't hear which station they arrived at.
In addition to add the missing measure word 个 ge, the commenter also moved the 了 to the end of the sentence. Actually I don't know why, since the action, the arriving at the station, is finished, so it should be possible to put it either directly after the verb, or at the end of the whole phrase. At the time, I didn't ask, so I guess this will continue to be a mystery.
2. original sentece: 我们一共玩三种游戏。
corrected sentece: 我们一共玩了三种游戏
translation: we played three different games
The action is finished and so there should be a 了 after the verb. Very clear.
3. original sentence：后来她后悔的日子多，开心的日子少
corrected sentence: 后来她后悔的日子多了，开心的日子少了
translation: afterwards the days of regret were many, and the happy days were few
I guess the reason for putting the 了 at the end of the phrases is that the adjectives 多/many/more and 少/few/fewer are about changes in the situation. Before, it was otherwise, but afterwards, it changed. The phrases ends with adjective + 了 so there is no problem of where to put the 了. After the verb is also at the end of the phrase.
Note also that this last sentence shows that 了 not only is used with verbs, but with adjectives as well. In Chinese, there is no need for verbs in a sentence, the adjectives can take that role. In contrast, in English we need to say "were many", with this extra "were". I tend to connect 了 with verbs, and forget about the adjectives.
My grammar book, 《现代汉语语法教程》by 丁崇明， mentions quite a lot of uses or meanings for 了. It can be placed after the verb or the adjective to show that the action is finished. It can be placed after the entire sentence (or phrase), and have the same meaning. If it's placed after the entire sentence it could also mean that a new situation has arised. In additon, the sentence-final 了 could be there just for the tone, to make the sentence more narrative or more lika a request.
The book also mentions three special uses or patterns with 了, that I will list beneath.
1. 了 is often added after words describing something in an order (I'm sure there is a special word for this, but I can't think of any). For example 星期五了，which can be translated as "it's already Friday".
2. 了 is added to sentence that contain 就要/快要.
The pattern is: 就要/快要 + rest of the sentence + 了
3. There is a pattern with two 了 and in the middle there is a period of time. In this case, the meaning is "uptil now".
Pattern: Verb + 了 + period of time + noun if applicable + 了
This sounds very complicated, but actually, most students of Chinese learn this pattern very early, saying things like:
我学了八个月中文了, meaning I've been studying Chinese for eight months (uptil now).
study is the verb, eight months is the time period, and Chinese is the noun.
Well, that's fine, but where do I make mistakes? Let's analyze a few of my sentences.
1. original sentence: 她太累了，没有听到现在到了哪站
corrected sentence: 她太累了，没有听到现在到哪个站了
translation: she was too tired and didn't hear which station they arrived at.
In addition to add the missing measure word 个 ge, the commenter also moved the 了 to the end of the sentence. Actually I don't know why, since the action, the arriving at the station, is finished, so it should be possible to put it either directly after the verb, or at the end of the whole phrase. At the time, I didn't ask, so I guess this will continue to be a mystery.
2. original sentece: 我们一共玩三种游戏。
corrected sentece: 我们一共玩了三种游戏
translation: we played three different games
The action is finished and so there should be a 了 after the verb. Very clear.
3. original sentence：后来她后悔的日子多，开心的日子少
corrected sentence: 后来她后悔的日子多了，开心的日子少了
translation: afterwards the days of regret were many, and the happy days were few
I guess the reason for putting the 了 at the end of the phrases is that the adjectives 多/many/more and 少/few/fewer are about changes in the situation. Before, it was otherwise, but afterwards, it changed. The phrases ends with adjective + 了 so there is no problem of where to put the 了. After the verb is also at the end of the phrase.
Note also that this last sentence shows that 了 not only is used with verbs, but with adjectives as well. In Chinese, there is no need for verbs in a sentence, the adjectives can take that role. In contrast, in English we need to say "were many", with this extra "were". I tend to connect 了 with verbs, and forget about the adjectives.