Expressing "already" with 已经 - HSK 2 Grammar Lesson 2.4.3

How to Express Change and Completion in Chinese

Introduction to Adjectives and Change

• The course "Chinese Zero to Hero" aims to take beginners from HSK 1 to HSK 6, with selected lessons available on YouTube.

• In HSK 1, grammar point 5.3 introduces the use of adjectives with "了" (la) to indicate change, exemplified by the phrase "我好了" (wǒ hǎo le), meaning "I got well."

Emphasizing Completion with "Already"

• To express that a change has already occurred, the word "已经" (yǐjīng) is added: "我已经好了" (wǒ yǐjīng hǎo le).

• The structure for this construction is: verb + adjective + 了 (la). For example, “他回家了” (tā huí jiā le), meaning “He went home,” indicates completion.

Additional Examples of Usage

• More examples include phrases like “老师回家了” (lǎoshī huí jiā le), which translates as “The teacher has already gone home.”

• The phrase can also be modified for emphasis: “他已经回家了” (tā yǐjīng huí jiā le), emphasizing that he has indeed gone home already.

Expressing Duration in Activities

• To say you have been doing something for a duration, such as playing soccer for ten years, one would say: “我踢足球踢了十年” (wǒ tī zúqiú tī le shí nián).