Breakdown of wǒmen yǐjīng mǎi le shǒujī.
Used after a verb. Marks that an action is completed.
Questions & Answers about wǒmen yǐjīng mǎi le shǒujī.
Use 还没(有) and do not use 了:
- 我们还没(有)买手机(呢)。 Using 没(有) with 了 is ungrammatical: ✗我们没买了手机.
Before the verb phrase, usually right after the subject: 我们已经买了手机. With other adverbs, the common order is subject + 都/也 + 已经 + verb phrase:
- 我们都已经买了手机。
- 我们也已经买了手机。
Yes. Both are natural:
- 我们已经买了手机: neutral “completed action.”
- 我们已经买手机了: also completed, but with a stronger “now it’s the case that…”/change-of-state feel (because 了 is sentence-final). In everyday speech both are fine.
- 买了: a specific completed event (we completed the purchase).
- 买过: experiential; you have had the experience before, not necessarily referring to a specific, recent purchase.
Examples: - 我们已经买了手机。 (We completed the purchase.)
- 我们已经买过手机了。 (We have bought phones before; experience exists.) 过 usually doesn’t pair with a specific time like 昨天.
You need a measure word when you use a numeral or a demonstrative. Here, 手机 is an indefinite object with unspecified quantity, so a bare noun is fine. If you want to specify quantity, add it:
- 买了一部手机 (one phone)
- 买了两部手机 (two phones)
- Most common/specific: 部 (一部手机)
- Generic and very common in speech: 个 (一个手机)
- Another option for machines: 台 (一台手机)
All are understandable; 部 is the safest “correct” choice.
It’s intentionally unspecified. It could be one shared phone or multiple phones for different people. To disambiguate:
- One: 我们已经买了一部手机。
- Each person got one: 我们每人已经买了一部手机。/ 我们各买了一部手机。
- Several (unspecified): 我们已经买了几部手机。/ 我们已经买了一些手机。
Use 了吗:
- 你们买手机了吗? Answer:
- Affirmative: 我们已经买了手机。
- Negative: 我们还没(有)买手机。
Yes, if it’s clear from context. For example, as an answer:
- Q: 你们买手机了吗?
- A: 已经买了。
Typically after the subject and before 已经, or sentence-initial:
- 我们昨天已经买了手机。
- 昨天我们已经买了手机。 Avoid placing 昨天 after 已经: ✗我们已经昨天买了手机.
- 买了手机 focuses on the action of buying being completed.
- 有手机了 focuses on the resulting state (now we have a phone), with sentence-final 了 marking a new situation:
- 我们已经有手机了。 (We now have a phone; new state established.)
Use the 是…的 construction to spotlight circumstances of a past event:
- 我们是昨天在商场买的手机。 (It was yesterday at the mall that we bought the phone.) This construction doesn’t need 已经/了, because it presupposes the action happened.
No. 已经 should come before the predicate it modifies. Correct placements:
- 我们已经买了手机。
- 手机我们已经买了。 (Topicalized object) But not: ✗我们买了手机已经。
- 买到了手机 uses the result complement 到 to highlight successful attainment (“managed to get”). Good when availability was uncertain.
- 买了手机 simply states completion of buying, without emphasizing difficulty/success.
- “No longer (change of plan/habit)”: 我们不买手机了。
- “Not yet (but maybe later)”: 我们还没(有)买手机。
Yes, if the object is definite/known:
- 我们已经把手机买了。 (That specific phone we discussed is already bought.) Often you’ll see a result complement with 把 to stress completion: 我们已经把手机买好了。 (It’s bought and all set.) Don’t use 把 with an indefinite, unknown phone.
Use 早就 for “long ago/already for a while”:
- 我们早就买了手机。 (We bought a phone long ago.)