// === GRAMMAR LESSON: 了 ASPECT PARTICLE === // Dedicated grammar course focused on the 了 particle in Chinese window.ContentModules = window.ContentModules || {}; window.ContentModules.GrammarLessonLe = { id: "grammar-lesson-le", name: "Grammar Lesson: 了 (le) Aspect Particle", description: "Complete lesson on the Chinese aspect particle 了 - completion and change of state", difficulty: "intermediate", language: "zh-CN", type: "grammar_course", // === MAIN GRAMMAR LESSON === grammar: { "le-aspect-particle": { title: "The 了 (le) Aspect Particle - 动态助词了", explanation: "了 is one of the most important particles in Chinese. It indicates completion of an action or a change of state. Unlike English past tense, 了 focuses on the aspect (how the action is viewed) rather than when it happened.", mainRules: [ "了 shows that an action has been completed", "了 indicates a change from one state to another", "了 can appear after the verb (了1) or at the end of sentence (了2)", "了 does NOT simply mean 'past tense' - it's about completion/change" ], detailedExplanation: { "completion": { title: "1. Completion of Action (动作完成)", explanation: "了 after a verb shows the action has been completed", pattern: "Subject + Verb + 了 + Object", examples: [ { chinese: "我吃了饭", english: "I ate (have eaten) the meal", pronunciation: "wǒ chī le fàn", breakdown: "我(I) + 吃(eat) + 了(completed) + 饭(meal)", explanation: "The eating action is completed" }, { chinese: "他买了一本书", english: "He bought a book", pronunciation: "tā mǎi le yì běn shū", breakdown: "他(he) + 买(buy) + 了(completed) + 一本书(a book)", explanation: "The buying action is finished" }, { chinese: "老师讲了三个故事", english: "The teacher told three stories", pronunciation: "lǎo shī jiǎng le sān gè gù shì", breakdown: "老师(teacher) + 讲(tell) + 了(completed) + 三个故事(three stories)", explanation: "The telling action is complete" } ] }, "change-of-state": { title: "2. Change of State (状态变化)", explanation: "了 at the end of a sentence shows a change in situation or state", pattern: "Subject + Verb + Object + 了", examples: [ { chinese: "天黑了", english: "It has gotten dark / It's dark now", pronunciation: "tiān hēi le", breakdown: "天(sky) + 黑(dark) + 了(change of state)", explanation: "Change from light to dark" }, { chinese: "我饿了", english: "I'm hungry now / I've become hungry", pronunciation: "wǒ è le", breakdown: "我(I) + 饿(hungry) + 了(change of state)", explanation: "Change from not hungry to hungry" }, { chinese: "下雨了", english: "It's raining now / It started to rain", pronunciation: "xià yǔ le", breakdown: "下雨(rain) + 了(change of state)", explanation: "Change from not raining to raining" } ] }, "double-le": { title: "3. Double 了 Construction", explanation: "Sometimes 了 appears both after the verb AND at the end of sentence", pattern: "Subject + Verb + 了 + Object + 了", examples: [ { chinese: "我买了三本书了", english: "I have bought three books (and the situation has changed)", pronunciation: "wǒ mǎi le sān běn shū le", breakdown: "我 + 买了(completed buying) + 三本书 + 了(new situation)", explanation: "Action completed AND situation changed" }, { chinese: "他吃了两个苹果了", english: "He has eaten two apples (and is now full/satisfied)", pronunciation: "tā chī le liǎng gè píng guǒ le", breakdown: "他 + 吃了(completed eating) + 两个苹果 + 了(new state)", explanation: "Eating completed AND state changed" } ] } }, commonMistakes: [ { mistake: "Using 了 for all past actions", wrong: "我昨天了去学校", correct: "我昨天去了学校 / 我昨天去学校", explanation: "了 shows completion, not just past time. Don't add 了 randomly to past time expressions." }, { mistake: "Forgetting 了 for completed actions", wrong: "我吃饭,现在很饱", correct: "我吃了饭,现在很饱", explanation: "Need 了 to show the eating is completed before being full" }, { mistake: "Using 了 with ongoing actions", wrong: "我正在吃了饭", correct: "我正在吃饭", explanation: "Can't use 了 with 正在 (ongoing) - they're contradictory" } ], practicePoints: [ "Ask yourself: Is the action completed? Use 了 after verb", "Ask yourself: Has the situation changed? Use 了 at end", "Remember: 了 ≠ past tense. It's about completion/change", "Pay attention to context - sometimes 了 is not needed even for past actions" ] } }, // === VOCABULARY FOR THE LESSON === vocabulary: { "了": { translation: "aspect particle (completion/change)", type: "particle", pronunciation: "le", usage: "Shows completed action or change of state" }, "吃": { translation: "to eat", type: "verb", pronunciation: "chī" }, "买": { translation: "to buy", type: "verb", pronunciation: "mǎi" }, "讲": { translation: "to tell/speak", type: "verb", pronunciation: "jiǎng" }, "饭": { translation: "meal/food", type: "noun", pronunciation: "fàn" }, "书": { translation: "book", type: "noun", pronunciation: "shū" }, "故事": { translation: "story", type: "noun", pronunciation: "gù shì" }, "天": { translation: "sky/day", type: "noun", pronunciation: "tiān" }, "黑": { translation: "dark/black", type: "adjective", pronunciation: "hēi" }, "饿": { translation: "hungry", type: "adjective", pronunciation: "è" }, "下雨": { translation: "to rain", type: "verb", pronunciation: "xià yǔ" } }, // === FILL IN THE BLANKS EXERCISES === fillInBlanks: [ { sentence: "我吃___饭,现在很饱", options: ["了", "的", "在", "着"], correctAnswer: "了", explanation: "Use 了 to show the eating action is completed before being full", grammarFocus: "completion" }, { sentence: "天黑___,我们回家吧", options: ["了", "的", "在", "着"], correctAnswer: "了", explanation: "Use 了 to show change of state - it has become dark", grammarFocus: "change-of-state" }, { sentence: "他买___三本书___", options: ["了...了", "的...的", "在...在", "着...着"], correctAnswer: "了...了", explanation: "Double 了: action completed (买了) AND situation changed (了)", grammarFocus: "double-le" }, { sentence: "我昨天___学校", options: ["去了", "了去", "去的", "的去"], correctAnswer: "去了", explanation: "了 comes after the verb to show completed action", grammarFocus: "word-order" }, { sentence: "下雨___,路很湿", options: ["了", "的", "在", "着"], correctAnswer: "了", explanation: "Change of state: it has started raining (wasn't raining before)", grammarFocus: "change-of-state" } ], // === CORRECTION EXERCISES === corrections: [ { incorrect: "我昨天了去学校", correct: "我昨天去了学校", explanation: "了 should come after the verb, not before it", grammarFocus: "word-order" }, { incorrect: "我正在吃了饭", correct: "我正在吃饭", explanation: "Cannot use 了 (completion) with 正在 (ongoing action)", grammarFocus: "aspect-conflict" }, { incorrect: "我吃饭,现在很饱", correct: "我吃了饭,现在很饱", explanation: "Need 了 to show eating is completed before the result (being full)", grammarFocus: "completion" }, { incorrect: "他很高了的人", correct: "他是很高的人", explanation: "Don't use 了 in descriptions with 的. 了 is for actions/changes, not permanent descriptions", grammarFocus: "inappropriate-usage" } ], // === TRANSLATION EXERCISES === sentences: [ { english: "I finished my homework", chinese: "我做完了作业", pronunciation: "wǒ zuò wán le zuò yè", grammarFocus: "completion" }, { english: "It's gotten cold", chinese: "天气冷了", pronunciation: "tiān qì lěng le", grammarFocus: "change-of-state" }, { english: "He bought two books and now has them", chinese: "他买了两本书了", pronunciation: "tā mǎi le liǎng běn shū le", grammarFocus: "double-le" }, { english: "The teacher finished the lesson", chinese: "老师讲完了课", pronunciation: "lǎo shī jiǎng wán le kè", grammarFocus: "completion" } ] };