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Learn Hardcore Chinese: gōngsī jiēshòu le shēnqǐng. - The company accepted the application.

Hardcore Chinese
/Reporting a water leak to property management
/gōngsī jiēshòu le shēnqǐng.

gōngsī jiēshòu le shēnqǐng.

公司gōngsī　接受jiēshòu　了le　申请shēnqǐng。gōngsī jiēshòu le shēnqǐng.

The company accepted the application.

Breakdown of gōngsī jiēshòu le shēnqǐng.

公司gōngsīgōngsī

perfective particle

Used after a verb. Marks that an action is completed.

申请shēnqǐngshēnqǐng

Questions & Answers about gōngsī jiēshòu le shēnqǐng.

What is the basic sentence structure here?

The structure is:

subject + verb + 了 + object

So in this sentence:

公司 = the company
接受 = accept
了 = marks a completed action
申请 = application

That gives:

公司接受了申请。
= The company accepted the application.

This is a very common Mandarin word order. In simple statements, Chinese usually follows Subject–Verb–Object, just like English.

Why is 了 used here?

了 here is a particle that shows the action has been completed or that a new event has occurred.

So:

公司接受申请 can mean the company accepts applications or the company accepts an application/applications in a more general sense.
公司接受了申请 means the accepting actually happened: the company accepted the application.

In this sentence, 了 is not really the same as an English past tense ending. It is better understood as marking completion or change of situation, not simply past.

Can I leave out 了?

接受jiēshòu

jiēshòu

to accept

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Yes, but the meaning changes.

公司接受了申请。
= The company accepted the application.
This points to a completed event.
公司接受申请。
= The company accepts applications / The company accepts an application.
This sounds more general, habitual, or like a statement of policy.

So if you want to talk about one completed action, 了 is very natural.

Why does 申请 mean application here? Doesn’t it also mean to apply?

Yes, 申请 can be both a verb and a noun.

As a verb, it means to apply.
- 我想申请这个工作。 = I want to apply for this job.
As a noun, it means application.
- 公司接受了申请。 = The company accepted the application.

In your sentence, 申请 comes after the verb 接受, so it is functioning as a noun: application.

This is very common in Chinese. Many words can act as different parts of speech depending on position and context.

Why is there no word for the or an?

Mandarin does not have articles like the, a, or an.

So 公司 can mean:

company
the company
a company

And 申请 can mean:

application
the application
an application

The exact meaning depends on context.

If Chinese wants to be more specific, it often uses demonstratives or other modifiers, for example:

这家公司 = this company
那个申请 = that application
你的申请 = your application

So the lack of the/an is normal in Chinese.

Is 接受 the same as 收到?

Not exactly.

接受 means to accept
收到 means to receive

This difference matters:

收到申请 = received the application
The company got it.
接受申请 = accepted the application
The company approved it or agreed to it.

So 接受 suggests more than just physically getting something; it suggests approval, agreement, or willingness to take it.

Is this sentence talking about one application or applications in general?

By itself, it could be understood either way depending on context, but with 了, it usually sounds like a specific completed event, so learners often understand it as:

The company accepted the application.

If you want to clearly mean applications in general, you would more naturally say:

公司接受申请。 = The company accepts applications.

If you want to clearly mean a specific application, you could say:

公司接受了我的申请。 = The company accepted my application.
公司接受了这个申请。 = The company accepted this application.

So the bare noun 申请 is possible, but in real conversation Chinese often adds context or a modifier.

Where would a time word go, like yesterday?

A time word usually goes before the verb, often after the subject.

For example:

公司昨天接受了申请。
= The company accepted the application yesterday.

Pattern:

subject + time + verb + 了 + object

So if you want to add time, put it before 接受.

Why is 了 after the verb instead of at the end of the sentence?

Because this 了 is the verb-completion 了, which is placed directly after the verb:

接受了

Chinese also has a sentence-final 了, but that is a different use.

Compare:

公司接受了申请。
The company accepted the application.
Here 了 marks the completed action.

A sentence-final 了 often emphasizes a new situation or change of state. Sometimes both can appear in one sentence, but in your example the important point is that 了 after the verb marks the action as completed.

Is the sentence natural without a measure word or classifier?

Yes. Classifiers are usually needed with numbers or demonstratives, not in every sentence.

For example:

一个申请 = one application
这个申请 = this application

But if you simply say:

接受申请

you do not need a classifier.

So 公司接受了申请。 is grammatically fine without one.

How should I pronounce 了 here?

Here 了 is usually pronounced le with a neutral tone.

So the sentence is:

公司 — gōngsī
接受 — jiēshòu
了 — le
申请 — shēnqǐng

A common learner mistake is trying to give 了 a strong full tone every time. In this sentence, it is light and unstressed.

Could I say 被接受了 here?

Not in the same way. 被 is used for the passive.

Your original sentence is active:

公司接受了申请。
= The company accepted the application.

If you want a passive sentence, you would say something like:

申请被公司接受了。
= The application was accepted by the company.

So 被接受了 is possible, but only when you restructure the sentence into the passive.

What are some natural variations of this sentence?

A few very common ones are:

公司接受了我的申请。
The company accepted my application.
公司已经接受了申请。
The company has already accepted the application.
公司不接受申请。
The company does not accept applications.
公司会接受申请吗？
Will the company accept the application / applications?

These help you see the same core pattern used in real communication.

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