By the time you reach HSK4 you have met the Mandarin aspect markers one at a time — 了, 过, 着, 在, and the rest — but they were probably never lined up side by side. This page is that line-up: a single decision map that takes any situation and points you to the right marker. The trick English speakers need is to stop asking "is this past, present, or future?" and start asking "what is the *shape of this event — is it complete, experienced, ongoing, beginning, or continuing?" Mandarin encodes shape, not time; the *when comes from separate time words (昨天, 明年, 已经).
The nine markers at a glance
Each marker answers one question about the event's shape. Learn the question, and the marker follows.
| Marker | The event is… | Example | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| 了₁ (le) | completed / bounded | 买了一件毛衣 | bought a sweater |
| 了₂ (le) | a new situation (change of state) | 下雨了 | it's raining now |
| 过 (guo) | an experience you've had | 去过西藏 | have been to Tibet |
| 着 (zhe) | a state persisting | 门开着 | the door is open |
| 在 / 正在 (zài / zhèngzài) | an action in progress | 在写论文 | is writing a thesis |
| 要…了 (yào…le) | about to happen (imminent) | 要开了 | about to leave |
| 起来 (qǐlái) | starting up (onset) | 笑起来 | burst out laughing |
| 下去 (xiàqù) | continuing (from now on) | 说下去 | keep talking |
| 惯 (guàn) | become habitual / accustomed | 住惯了 | used to living here |
Choose by the shape of the event
Walk down the questions in order and the first "yes" gives you your marker.
Is the action finished or bounded? Use 了₁ for a completed, quantified event, or 过 if you mean "have done it before at least once."
我昨天买了一件毛衣。
wǒ zuótiān mǎi le yí jiàn máoyī
I bought a sweater yesterday. (neutral) — 了₁ bounds a completed event.
我去过西藏，风景美极了。
wǒ qù guo Xīzàng, fēngjǐng měi jí le
I've been to Tibet — the scenery is stunning. (neutral) — 过 marks the experience.
Is it a brand-new situation? Use sentence-final 了₂ for a change of state — the world just became different.
下雨了，快把窗户关上。
xià yǔ le, kuài bǎ chuānghu guān shàng
It's raining now — hurry, close the window. (informal) — 了₂ announces the change.
Ongoing action, or a resting state? This is the classic split: 在/正在 for a dynamic action unfolding, 着 for a static condition that lingers.
别打扰他，他正在写论文。
bié dǎrǎo tā, tā zhèngzài xiě lùnwén
Don't bother him, he's writing his thesis. (neutral) — 正在 = action in progress.
门开着呢，你直接进来吧。
mén kāi zhe ne, nǐ zhíjiē jìnlái ba
The door's open, just come straight in. (informal) — 着 = a state holding steady.
About to start, just starting, or carrying on? These three phase markers cover the edges of an event — 要…了 for imminent, 起来 for the moment of onset, 下去 for continuation.
火车要开了，快上车！
huǒchē yào kāi le, kuài shàng chē
The train's about to leave — get on, quick! (informal) — 要…了 = imminent.
听到这个消息，大家都笑起来了。
tīng dào zhège xiāoxi, dàjiā dōu xiào qǐlái le
Hearing the news, everyone burst out laughing. (neutral) — 起来 = onset.
你说下去，我在听。
nǐ shuō xiàqù, wǒ zài tīng
Go on — I'm listening. (informal) — 下去 = continue an already-started action.
Has it become a habit you're comfortable with? Use 惯 (guàn), the "accustomed to" marker — 住惯了 (used to living here), 吃不惯 (not used to eating it). It attaches like a resultative and takes potential infixes.
在北京住惯了，回老家反而不适应。
zài Běijīng zhù guàn le, huí lǎojiā fǎn'ér bú shìyìng
Once you're used to living in Beijing, going back to your hometown actually feels strange. (neutral) — 惯 = habituation.
这种辣我实在吃不惯。
zhè zhǒng là wǒ shízài chī bu guàn
I really can't get used to this kind of spiciness. (informal) — 吃不惯 = not accustomed to eating it.
The three golden rules
Three rules cut across every marker and are worth memorizing as a block.
1. Aspect is not tense. None of these markers means "past." 了 can appear in a future event (明天下了课我就去 "once class ends tomorrow, I'll go"), and 在 describes an action ongoing at any time. See aspect is not tense.
2. Negate completion with 没, not 不. 不 negates habits, willingness, and general truths; 没 negates whether an event happened or a state was reached. To say something did not happen, reach for 没.
3. Under 没, 了 drops but 过 stays. When you negate a 了 sentence, the 了 disappears (买了 → 没买). But 过 survives negation, because "have never experienced" still needs the experiential marker (去过 → 没去过).
我没买那件毛衣，太贵了。
wǒ méi mǎi nà jiàn máoyī, tài guì le
I didn't buy that sweater, it was too expensive. (informal) — negated 了₁, so 了 is gone.
我从来没去过西藏。
wǒ cónglái méi qù guo Xīzàng
I've never been to Tibet. (neutral) — negated experience keeps 过.
For the finer 了₁ vs 了₂ split see the two 了 markers, and for 过 vs 了 see 过 vs 了.
Common Mistakes
1. Defaulting every marker to "past." Learners bolt 了 onto habitual and timeless statements because they read it as a past-tense ending.
❌ 我每天吃了早饭。
Incorrect — a daily habit takes no 了; this reads as a single completed event.
✅ 我每天吃早饭。
wǒ měi tiān chī zǎofàn
I eat breakfast every day. (neutral) — habits carry no aspect marker.
2. Using 不 to say something didn't happen. 不去 means "won't go / don't go," never "didn't go."
❌ 我昨天不去上班。
Incorrect — 不 can't negate a past event; this sounds like a refusal.
✅ 我昨天没去上班。
wǒ zuótiān méi qù shàngbān
I didn't go to work yesterday. (neutral) — 没 negates occurrence.
3. Keeping 了 after 没. Once 没 negates the event, the 了 must go.
❌ 他还没走了。
Incorrect — 没 and 了 clash; drop the 了.
✅ 他还没走。
tā hái méi zǒu
He hasn't left yet. (informal) — no 了 under 没.
4. Dropping 过 when you mean "never." For lifetime experience you need 过, or the sentence collapses into "didn't do it this time."
❌ 我没看这部电影。
Ambiguous — this means 'I didn't watch it (this time)', not 'never'.
✅ 我没看过这部电影。
wǒ méi kàn guo zhè bù diànyǐng
I've never seen this film. (neutral) — 过 carries the 'ever' meaning.
Key Takeaways
- Mandarin marks the shape of an event, not its tense; the when comes from time words.
- Chooser: complete → 了₁/过; new situation → 了₂; ongoing action → 在/正在; lingering state → 着; imminent → 要…了; onset → 起来; continuation → 下去; habituation → 惯.
- Negate occurrence with 没, never 不, for these markers.
- Under 没, 了 drops (没买) but 过 stays (没去过).
- The one habit to break: reading 了 as "-ed." It is aspect, not tense.
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Start learning Chinese→Related Topics
- Chinese Marks Aspect, Not TenseHSK 1 — Chinese verbs never change for past, present or future. Instead, particles mark ASPECT — whether an action is completed (了), experienced (过) or ongoing (着/在). Time is set by words like 昨天, not by the verb.
- Telling le₁ from le₂HSK 2 — The two 了s differ by position and meaning: 了₁ sits after the verb and marks a completed action (我买了票); 了₂ closes the sentence and marks a changed situation (我买票了). When the verb ends the sentence, one 了 does both (我吃饱了).
- 过 vs 了 (Experience vs Completion)HSK 2 — 过 (guo) reports an experience you have collected ('have ever done'), while 了 (le) reports a specific completed instance — 我去过北京 'I've been to Beijing (sometime)' vs 我去了北京 'I went to Beijing (a particular trip)'.
- The Durative 着 (zhe): Ongoing StateHSK 3 — 着 (zhe) after a verb marks a persisting STATE, not an action in progress — 门开着 'the door is (standing) open', 他拿着一本书 'he's holding a book' — contrasting with dynamic 在.
- How to Talk About the Past Without TenseHSK 2 — With no past tense, Chinese conveys 'past' through time words (昨天), 了 for completion and 过 for experience — but many past sentences, especially states and habits, take no marker at all.