Talk about completed past actions using 了 and 过.
Mandarin has no verb conjugation. Time is shown with particles.
了 (le) marks a completed action:
过 (guo) marks past experience:
Time words like 昨天 (zuótiān, yesterday) set the tense.
| Mandarin | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 昨天 | Yesterday | 昨天我去了商店。 |
| 吃了 | Ate | 我吃了早饭。 |
| 去过 | Have been to | 我去过中国。 |
| 看了 | Watched / read | 我看了那部电影。 |
| 上个星期 | Last week | 上个星期很忙。 |
| 以前 | Before / in the past | 以前我住在上海。 |
| Word | Phonetic | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| 昨天 | 2nd then 1st tone. Means "yesterday" | |
| 吃了 | "chī" is 1st tone; "le" is neutral, marks completion | |
| 去过 | "guo" (neutral) marks past experience |
了 vs 过: 了 marks a specific completed action (我吃了饭 — I ate). 过 marks having experienced something at least once (我吃过 — I have eaten it before).
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