[Learn basic Chinese with grammar] Common mistakes with 了, 過, and 著

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Common mistakes with 了, 過, and 著

了 ♬, 過 ♬, and 著 ♬ are all common Chinese grammar markers, but they do different jobs.

Marker	Basic use
了 ♬	completion or change
過 ♬	experience
著 ♬	continuing state

The biggest mistake is trying to translate them directly from English tense. Chinese focuses more on completion, experience, and state.

1. Do not treat 了 as simple past tense

了 ♬ can appear in past situations, but it is not the same as English past tense. It often shows completion or a new situation.

Wrong idea	Better idea
了 = past tense	了 ♬ = completion or change

Not natural	Natural Chinese
昨天我累了，所以不出門。	昨天我很累，所以沒有出門。 ♬

Here, the sentence is mainly describing a past condition. You do not need to force 了 just because English uses past tense.

2. Use 過 for experience, not just any past action

過 ♬ is used when the point is experience: someone has done something before.

Not natural	Natural Chinese
我昨天看過展覽。	我昨天看了展覽。 ♬
我看了那個展覽嗎？	你看過那個展覽嗎？ ♬

If you say exactly when the action happened, like 昨天, 了 is often more natural for a completed action. If you ask about life experience, 過 is better.

3. Use 沒 + Verb + 過 for “have never”

For negative experience, use 沒 ♬ + Verb + 過. Do not use 不 in this pattern.

Not natural	Natural Chinese
我不看過這份報告。	我沒看過這份報告。 ♬

沒看過 means “have not read / seen before.” It talks about an experience that has not happened.

4. Do not use 著 for every “-ing” sentence

著 ♬ usually shows a continuing state. For an action happening right now, use 正在 ♬ or 在 ♬.

Not natural	Natural Chinese
她寫著郵件。	她正在寫郵件。 ♬

The natural sentence means “She is writing an email right now.” This is an action in progress, not a continuing state.

Chinese	English	Focus
白板上寫著日期。 ♬	The date is written on the whiteboard.	Continuing state
她正在寫郵件。 ♬	She is writing an email right now.	Action in progress

5. 了, 過, and 著 can change the focus

The same verb can have a different focus with different markers.

Chinese	English	Focus
他關了窗戶。 ♬	He closed the window.	Completed action
他關過窗戶。 ♬	He has closed the window before.	Experience
窗戶關著。 ♬	The window is closed.	Continuing state

Do not choose the marker based only on English tense. Choose it based on what you want to emphasize.

Useful words and example sentences