Finished Action

_THIS IS A TESTING BETA VERSION OF THE SITE_

I BOUGHT A CAR.

HE SAID THAT…

HE WENT TO CHINA.

Finished action is remotely equivalent to past tense and sometimes present perfect in English

To indicate that the ACTION is finished, we put 了 /le/ right after the verb

ACTIONS are verbs like: TO BUY, TO GO, TO DRINK

ACTIONS aren’t verbs like: TO KNOW, TO WANT, TO FEEL

These are STATES and can’t be “finished”. They remain in the present form

BASIC EXAMPLES

HE WENT TO CHINA FOR WORK.

他去了中国工作。

<Tā qù le Zhōngguó gōngzuò.>

I'VE BOUGHT A LOT OF THINGS.

我买了很多东西。

<Wǒ mǎi le hěn duō dōngxi.>

I'VE BOUGHT A VERY EXPENSIVE CAR.

我买了很贵的汽车。

<Wǒ mǎile hěn guì de qìchē.>

WHERE DID YOU GO?

你去了哪里？

Nǐ qù le nǎli?

MORE DIFFICULT SENTENCES

I'VE FOUND THAT HE DOESN'T LIVE IN SHANGHAI (anymore).

我发现了他不住在上海了。

<Wǒ fāxiàn le tā bù zhù zài Shànghǎi le.>

I FORGOT HOW TO SAY THIS IN CHINESE.

我忘了这个汉语怎么说。

<Wǒ wàng le zhège hànyǔ zěnme shuō.>

HE GAVE ME A VERY EXPENSIVE PRESENT.

他送了我很贵的礼物。

<Tā sòng le wǒ hěn guì de lǐwù.>

YESTERDAY I WATCHED A VERY INTERESTING FILM.

我昨天看了很有意思的电影。

<Wǒ zuótiān kànle hěn yǒuyìsi de diànyǐng.>