了: a completed event or a new situation

Hanzi Tools · Learning guide · Updated 6 November 2026

Verb + 了 often presents an event as realized. Sentence-final 了 often signals a changed situation. It is not a general past-tense ending; context matters.

Compare the examples

我昨天去北京了。

I went to Beijing yesterday.

我不喝咖啡了。

I do not drink coffee anymore.

Try it yourself

Which sentence means “I do not drink coffee anymore”?

1. 我不喝咖啡了。
2. 我没喝咖啡。

Practise in context

Write a sentence about something that happened to you, using this pattern. Keep the first version short so you can check the word order. Then change one part, such as the time, person or object, and compare what the new sentence means.

Use the grammar exercises for another comparison. You can paste your example into the Chinese reader to check words and pinyin. An automatic reading is a reference; it cannot settle every question of meaning or naturalness.