过了

guò le

Using "guo" with "le"

过了 says the thing has been done — recently, and it's off the list.

Verb + 过 + 了

How it works

她吃过了 — she's eaten (so don't wait for her). This isn't the life-experience 过; it's about a task already taken care of.

The 了 is the change-of-state one: the situation is now different from before.

It's the natural reply to 你吃饭了吗? when the answer is a relaxed "yep, already done".

Examples

  • tā chī guò le

    她吃过了。

    She's already eaten.

  • yào wǒ chī guò le

    药我吃过了。

    I've taken the medicine.

  • zhè ge wèn tí wǒ men tǎo lùn guò le

    这个问题我们讨论过了。

    We've already discussed this.