HSK 1 grammar · particle
了
Verb + 了 — completed action
Pattern
+ + +
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
了 right after the verb marks the action as completed. It is about completion, not past tense — a future action can also take 了 once it will be complete.
Examples
我吃了早饭。
Wǒ chī le zǎofàn.
I ate breakfast.
他买了一本书。
Tā mǎi le yì běn shū.
He bought a book.
Related
See it in a story
In the app, 了 is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.