Verb + 了
Reach for Verb + 了 when you want to say an action has been completed. It's the most common past-action marker in Mandarin, and the one you'll meet on day one. 了 hugs the verb directly: 吃了 (ate), 看了 (watched), 买了 (bought). If a quantified object follows, the structure usually goes Verb + 了 + Number + Measure + Noun (吃了一个苹果). To negate a completed action, switch to 没 + Verb and drop the 了 (没吃 = didn't eat).
Structure
[SUBJECT] [VERB] 了 ([OBJECT])
[VERB] le...
How to Think About It
了 stamps 'this action is done.' It doesn't translate cleanly to English past tense — it marks completion, not time. So 'I eat breakfast every morning' uses NO 了, but 'I ate breakfast (this morning)' does. The single most reliable test: did the action finish? If yes, 了 belongs after the verb. If the action is ongoing, habitual, or future, leave 了 out entirely.
Examples
我吃了一个苹果。
Wǒ chī le yí ge píngguǒ.
I ate an apple.
他买了两本书。
Tā mǎi le liǎng běn shū.
He bought two books.
昨天我看了一部电影。
Zuótiān wǒ kàn le yí bù diànyǐng.
Yesterday I watched a movie.
孩子睡了。
Háizi shuì le.
The kid fell asleep.
下雨了。
Xiàyǔ le.
It's started raining.
他生病了。
Tā shēngbìng le.
He got sick.
Common Mistake
Learners negate with 不 and keep the 了, copying English 'didn't.' Chinese flips the rule: completed actions are negated with 没 (or 没有), and the 了 is dropped because there's no completion to mark.
我不吃了饭。
我没吃饭。
Don't Confuse With
Verb + 过
Use 过 for 'have ever done X' (我去过北京 = I've been to Beijing). Verb + 了 marks a specific completed action; 过 marks the experience of having done it at some point.
Sentence + 了 (sentence-final 了)
Use sentence-final 了 to mark a change of state or new situation ('it's snowing now'). Verb + 了 is glued to the verb and signals completion of the action itself.
在 + Verb
Use 在 + Verb for an ongoing action ('she's reading'). Verb + 了 is for action already finished. They don't combine on the same verb.
Verb + 过
Marks an experience ('have done X before'). 了 marks a change of state at this moment; 过 marks that something happened at some point in the past.
Verb + 着
Ongoing state ('door is open'). 了 is for the moment the state CHANGED ('door opened').
Practice
Fill in the blank: 妈妈做 ___ 三个菜。
Show answer
了
Fill in the blank: 我没 ___ 早饭。 (eat)
Show answer
吃
Arrange: 一杯 / 喝了 / 我 / 茶
Show answer
我喝了一杯茶。
Translate: He bought a new phone yesterday.
Show answer
昨天他买了一个新手机。
Write a sentence about something you did this morning using Verb + 了.
Show answer
今天早上我喝了一杯咖啡。
Fill in: 妈妈哭____。
Show answer
了
Fill in: 宝宝____了。 (woke up)
Show answer
醒
Arrange: 飞机 / 了 / 走 / 已经
Show answer
飞机已经走了。
Translate to Chinese: The lights turned off.
Show answer
灯关了。
Write a sentence with 了 describing a change you noticed today.
Show answer
今天天气变冷了。
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 5 Fluentide episodes:
他看见了小红。
昨天他听了。
他死了。 — He died.
今天很多飞机不飞了。
宝宝生病了 (The baby got sick)
Related Grammar Patterns
Acquire by listening
Hear Verb + 了 in real Chinese, not in a textbook.
Fluentide picks the next news episode at your level, so this pattern shows up again and again in real context. The transcript marks it, the audio drills it. Free to start, no card.