wǒ yǐjīng shēnqǐng le jiǎngxuéjīn.

I

Breakdown of wǒ yǐjīng shēnqǐng le jiǎngxuéjīn.

• 了le: perfective particle
• 已经yǐjīng: already

Questions & Answers about wǒ yǐjīng shēnqǐng le jiǎngxuéjīn.

Why do we need both 已经 (yǐjīng, already) and 了 (le)? Isn’t 已经 enough to show it’s in the past?

已经 and 了 do different jobs:

• 已经 = an adverb meaning already, it expresses expectation/contrast, like “earlier than expected” or “as you asked, it’s done now.”
• 了 (here) = an aspect marker showing the action of 申请 (to apply) is completed.

So:

• 我已经申请了奖学金。
  
  • Literally: I already applied (completed the action of applying for) the scholarship.
  • 已经 adds the “already” meaning.
  • 了 marks that the applying is done.

You often see them together when you want to say something is already done:

• 我已经吃了饭。 – I’ve already eaten.
• 他已经走了。 – He’s already left.

They’re not redundant; each contributes a different piece of information.

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If 了 marks past action, is this sentence used for something that just happened, or something long ago? Is it like English “have applied”?