Use of 了 with adverbs of time
I have been reading/hearing different things about this topic, so I thought I would ask it here and hopefully get a definitive answer...

I have read in my grammar books that 了 can indicate the English equivalent of past tense, for example: 我吃面了 - I ate noodles. This part is clear.

The controversy comes with the use of adverbs of time, such as "yesterday." The grammar books say 了 is not used if the adverb makes it clear something happened in the past, for example: 我昨天吃面 - Yesterday I ate noodles. But I have heard from native speakers you still use 了: 我昨天吃面了 - Yesterday I ate noodles.

Which way is right? Do you use 了 with 昨天 or other adverbs that signify the past? Or are both right?

Question

Use of 了 with adverbs of time
I have been reading/hearing different things about this topic, so I thought I would ask it here and hopefully get a definitive answer...

I have read in my grammar books that 了 can indicate the English equivalent of past tense, for example: 我吃面了 - I ate noodles.  This part is clear.

The controversy comes with the use of adverbs of time, such as "yesterday."  The grammar books say 了 is not used if the adverb makes it clear something happened in the past, for example: 我昨天吃面 - Yesterday I ate noodles. But I have heard from native speakers you still use 了: 我昨天吃面了 - Yesterday I ate noodles.

Which way is right?  Do you use 了 with 昨天 or other adverbs that signify the past?  Or are both right?

Answer

Hi Travis, I would say that "我昨天吃面“is the "neutral way" just to say, "I ate noodles yesterday."

You *can* add 了, but it will change, perhaps not the meaning, but the "context" of the sentence. When you say “我昨天吃面了”, there is an implication that you've been wanting to eat noodles for a long time, and you finally got the chance to eat noodles yesterday. Or if today someone asks you whether you would like noodles for lunch, by saying “我昨天吃面了”, you are implying that you have already eaten noodles just yesterday and you'd prefer to eat something else today.

In other words, use "我昨天吃面" to state a simple fact that you ate noodles yesterday. Use “我昨天吃面了” to give an extra implication that goes beyond its neutral, past tense meaning.

Answer

谢谢你，很有用！

Answer

---你今天吃什么？
---我昨天吃面，今天吃米饭。

---你吃什么了？
---我吃面了。

----你昨天吃什么了？
----我昨天吃面了。

---明天吃什么？
----明天吃面。