New words and language points

New words

东西 dōngxi thing, stuff

吃东西 chī dōngxi to eat something 买东西 mǎi dōngxi to buy something

一点儿 yìdiǎnr a few, a little

苹果 píngguǒ apple

Language points

了 le

It can be used at the end of a sentence makes a difference in tense.

我吃苹果了。It means I ATE an apple or I’ve EATEN an apple.

The particle can also be used between a transitive verb and its object when a modifier, such as a numeral classifier, an adjective or a pronoun, should be added before the object.

For example, 我吃了一个苹果。李月买了三本书。

The negative form of 了 in both cases above should be “没+verb” or “没+verb+object”. Attention: there is no 了 at the end anymore! And there’s no need to use a modifier before the object.

我吃苹果了。我没吃苹果。

他去商店了。他没去商店。

李月买了三本书。李月没买书。