Grammar 语法 Sentence ending “了”

了 can be added to virtually any statement. These sentences offer an explanation while adding the implication of some form of change or a reversal of a previous situation. They suggest that what is stated represents a change from what existed or what was happening before. Consider the following two sentences: �她喝了一瓶啤酒。She had a bottle of beer. (aspect particle 了, placed immediately after the verb) �她喝了一瓶啤酒了。She’s had a bottle of beer. (She’s had one bottle of beer.) (Sentence ending 了, placed at the end of a sentence) The first is a flat statement and the meaning implied by 了 is that the action of 喝 ‘to drink’ has been completed. In other words, the action of drinking a bottle of beer has already taken place. The sentence hence encodes a narrative. The second on the other hand, is much more animated with almost certainly stress on the word ‘一瓶啤酒’ ，and the end of sentence 了 conveys the sense that a new or an updated situation of ‘drinking a bottle of beer’ has happened for someone who probably will continue to drink more beer. If the first example resembles a past tense in English, the second example is more like a present perfect. The aspect indicator 了 in the first sentence belongs to the realm of narration while the sentence ending 了 in the latter is a pointer to exposition. More examples: 妹妹會説話了。(the younger sister can speak now – she was too young to say anything before) 我病了。(I’m sick – I was not sick before) 我的病好了。(I’m fine now – I was sick these past few days) 他上大學了。(He goes to college now – he was still in HS when I saw him last time) 他不愛你了。(He doesn’t love you any more – he loved you before)