Questions & Answers about tā yòu lái wǒ jiā le, wǒ ràng tā xiān jìnlái.
Why is 又 used instead of 再?
- 又 marks a repetition that has already happened (often with sentence-final 了): 他又来我家了 (He came again).
- 再 is for a future or hypothetical repetition: 他明天再来 (He’ll come again tomorrow).
- Avoid using 再...了 for past events; that combination is generally wrong for this meaning.
What does the sentence-final 了 do in the first clause?
It’s the change-of-state/assertive 了, signaling a new situation: “He has (now) come again.” Without 了, 他又来我家 would read more like a habitual/general statement rather than a newly occurred event.
Why is 了 at the end instead of after 来?
With motion verbs like 来/去 that take a place complement, the perfective/change marker 了 usually goes after the whole clause:
- Correct: 他又来我家了.
- Odd: 他又来了我家. If you want 了 right after the verb, use 到: 他又到了我家.
Can I say 他又到我家来 or 他又来到我家? Are they different from 他又来我家了?
All are acceptable with slight stylistic differences:
- 他又来我家了: very common, colloquial.
- 他又到我家来了: emphasizes arrival to a location (到…来).
- 他又来到我家了: more formal/literary feel (来到 as a compound). They convey the same basic idea.