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tā yǐjīng gàosu wǒ le, tā wǎnshang zài jiā.

他tā　已经yǐjīng　告诉gàosu　我wǒ　了le，　她tā　晚上wǎnshang　在zài　家jiā。tā yǐjīng gàosu wǒ le, tā wǎnshang zài jiā.
He already told me; she is at home in the evening.
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Questions & Answers about tā yǐjīng gàosu wǒ le, tā wǎnshang zài jiā.

Both 他 and 她 are pronounced tā. How do I tell who is who, especially in speech?
  • In writing, 他 = he, 她 = she. In speech both are tā; context tells you which one.
  • To avoid confusion in speech, people use names or descriptors: 小李/老师/那个男的/那个女的.
  • There’s also 它 (tā) for “it.”
What does 了 do in 告诉我了?
  • It marks a completed action (perfective): the telling has happened.
  • With an object like 我, perfective 了 often appears at the end of the verb phrase: 告诉我了.
Is using both 已经 and 了 redundant?
  • Not redundant. 已经 = “already” (focus/expectation), 了 = completion.
  • All are possible, with slightly different feel:
    • 他告诉我了 (completed).
    • 他已经告诉我 (already; completion understood).
    • 他已经告诉我了 (both “already” and completion; very natural).
Can I say 他已经告诉了我 instead of 他已经告诉我了?
  • Yes, 告诉了我 is grammatical, e.g., 他告诉了我一个秘密.
  • When the reported content is a clause, native rhythm often prefers 告诉我了 + 内容: 他已经告诉我了，她晚上在家.
Could I use 过 instead of 了 (e.g., 告诉过我)?
  • 过 = experiential “have ever done (before)”; 了 = a specific completed occurrence.
  • 他告诉过我 = He has told me before (at some time).
  • 他告诉我了 = He (has) told me (this time; relevant now).
Do I need a word like “that” after 告诉我?
  • No. Chinese doesn’t use a “that” conjunction here. Just add the content:
    • 他已经告诉我她晚上在家。
    • Or use a comma: 他已经告诉我，她晚上在家。
Is the comma after 了 okay? Should I add 说?
  • Yes, a comma is commonly used to introduce reported content.
  • You can also use 说:
    • 他已经跟我说了，她晚上在家。
    • 他跟我说她晚上在家。
What’s the difference between 告诉 and 说?
  • 告诉 + 人 + 内容: must include the recipient; “tell/inform.”
  • 说 (+ 跟/对 + 人) + 内容: “say/speak”; recipient optional.
  • In standard Mandarin, prefer 跟/对我说, not 给我说 (dialectal).
Does 晚上 mean “tonight” or “in the evenings”?
  • 晚上 alone can be general (“in the evenings”) or mean the coming evening from context.
  • To be explicit:
    • “tonight” = 今天晚上/今晚
    • Habitual: add 常常/一般/都 → 她晚上都在家.
What’s the normal word order for time and place?
  • Typical order: Subject + Time + Location + Verb (+ Object).
  • 她 晚上 在 家 follows that pattern. 她在家晚上 is odd unless more follows (e.g., 她在家晚上看电视).
Why use 在 instead of 是 for location?
  • Location is expressed with 在 + 地点: 她在家 = She is at home.
  • 是 doesn’t link subjects to locations. You can use 是 for focus: 她晚上是在家（不是在外面）.
Should it be 在家 or 在家里?
  • Both are fine. 在家 is concise; 在家里 slightly highlights “inside the home.” In everyday speech the difference is minimal.
Is 在 here the progressive marker (like “be doing”)?
  • No. Here 在 marks location. The progressive 在 appears before a verb: 她在看电视. In 她晚上在家, 在 is followed by a place.
How do I negate this? For example, “He hasn’t told me yet.”
  • “Not yet”: 他还没(有)告诉我（呢）。
  • Simple negative past: 他没告诉我。
  • Negating the second clause: 他已经告诉我了，她晚上不在家。
How do I ask “Has he already told you she’ll be at home tonight?”
  • 他已经告诉你她今晚会在家了吗？
  • Note: 吗 goes at the end; 会 makes the future reading explicit.
Can I drop the second 她 and say 他已经告诉我，晚上在家?
  • Better keep the subject for clarity. 他已经告诉我，晚上在家 is ambiguous (who is at home?). Omit only if context makes it crystal clear.
Why are there spaces between the words here? Chinese usually has none.
  • Correct—standard Chinese writing has no spaces between words. The spaces here show word segmentation for learners. Natural text: 他已经告诉我了，她晚上在家。
Any tone pitfalls in pronunciation?
  • 他 tā (1st), 已经 yǐjīng (3rd + 1st), 告诉 gàosu (4th + neutral), 我 wǒ (3rd), 了 le (neutral), 她 tā (1st), 晚上 wǎnshang (3rd + neutral), 在 zài (4th), 家 jiā (1st).
  • Neutral tones: 了, the second syllables of 告诉, 晚上 in common speech.
Is it okay to write it as one sentence without the comma: 他已经告诉我她晚上在家。?
  • Yes. That directly embeds 她晚上在家 as the content of 告诉. Both with and without the comma are common.