HSK 3 grammar · pattern
都…了
都…了 — already (emphatic, more than expected)
Pattern
+ +
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
都 … 了 stresses that things have already reached a point later or greater than expected — "it's already …!". The 都 adds a tone of surprise or urging, stronger than a plain 已经.
Examples
都十二点了，快睡吧。
Dōu shí'èr diǎn le, kuài shuì ba.
It's already twelve — go to sleep!
都这么大了，还哭。
Dōu zhème dà le, hái kū.
So grown up already, and still crying.
饭都凉了，你怎么还不吃？
Fàn dōu liáng le, nǐ zěnme hái bù chī?
The food's gone cold already — why aren't you eating?
Related
See it in a story
In the app, 都…了 is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.