ParticlesHSK 3

Change of state with 了

The particle 了 at the end of a sentence indicates a change of state or a new situation. It often follows an adjective to express that something has become a certain way. Be careful not to confuse this with the aspectual 了 used for completed actions.

Structure

Subj. + Adj. + 了

Used with adjectives that describe a changing state like 'hungry', 'tired', 'old'.

Examples

我饿了。
Wǒ è le.
I'm hungry.
孩子们都累了。
Hái zi men dōu lèi le.
The kids are all tired.
妈妈老了。
Mā ma lǎo le.
Mom has gotten old.
你胖了。
Nǐ pàng le.
You've gotten fat.
你是不是生气了？
Nǐ shì bu shì shēng qì le?
Are you mad?

Words that use this

了le(completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause)