Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
Chinese tenses: 了 and 过
Original Chinese study material with English explanations. Simplified Chinese with pinyin; beginner, intermediate and advanced are editorial difficulty labels.
Mandarin verbs do not change form for tense. Time phrases and aspect markers help establish time and viewpoint. Verb-final 了 (le) can mark a completed event; 过 (guo) can mark an experience.
我昨天买了一本书。
Wǒ zuótiān mǎi le yì běn shū.
I bought a book yesterday.
我去过北京。
Wǒ qù guo Běijīng.
I have been to Beijing.
Not every past event needs 了. Sentence-final 了 can signal a new situation, including one that is not in the past. 了 is pronounced liǎo in words such as 了解.
Try it
Which sentence reports a previous experience?
- 我去过上海。
- 我明天去上海。
- 我想去上海。
Answer and explanation
我去过上海。. 过 marks having had the experience; 明天 indicates tomorrow.