<p>那是有點兒貴了：</p>
<p>了 is frequently used in phrases such as 太...了/too...、最...了/most...、etc.  this is the same structure but with 有点儿...了/a little too...</p>
<p>here it is the same grammatical use of 了 in 太貴了, but the two phrases do not mean the same thing.</p>
<p>年輕人的休閒活動就更多了：</p>
<p>personally I would read 更多了 as one vocab term, a variation of 多了.  多了 would be much more, so I would write 更多了 as much much more.</p>
<p>Its hard to define 了 here in english, honestly. Terms with no english equivalent are not forgiving-- I can't say its the same as the 了 in 太貴了 but I can't actually say whats different either.  I would just leave it at saying that it is a different structure from 太貴了. It is more like a 比 structure with the implied 比 comparison to older people left out.  so keep that in mind :)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-02-03T08:31:08.157Z
2023-02-03T08:31:08.157Z
zagrycha
<p>I believe the 了 in both of your examples should be regarded as so-called 'modal particles', a.k.a. 'mood particle'. Quote Wikipedia:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>They are used to indicate how the speaker thinks that the content of the sentence relates to the participants' common knowledge[1] or add mood to the meaning of the sentence.[2] Languages that use many modal particles in their spoken form include Dutch, Danish, German, Hungarian, Russian, Telugu, Nepali, Indonesian, Chinese and Japanese.[3] The translation is often not straightforward and depends on the context.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The important bit here is 'the translation is often not straightforward'; one might add: 'and is often hard to pin down even for native speakers'. I just had a conversation about this 'filler' or 'ballast' words with several other native German speakers, and my partners were convinced that those words 'mean nothing'. Yet the German Wikipedia article linked below does give explanations for a number of the more frequently used modal particles in German.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modal_particle" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modal_particle</a></li>
<li><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modalpartikel" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modalpartikel</a></li>
</ul>
<p>This source:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.writtenchinese.com/complete-guide-chinese-modal-particles/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.writtenchinese.com/complete-guide-chinese-modal-particles/</a></li>
</ul>
<p>says that</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“了” can be used at the end of a declarative sentence to express affirmative mood. The meaning is “it has been done” or “it will be that”.</p>
<p>我看了今天的报纸了。 (wǒ kàn le jīn tiān de bào zhǐ le) I have read today‘s newspaper.</p>
<p>要下雨了。 (yào xià yǔ le) It is going to rain.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The second example is the classical one that is always brought up in this connection, and the first is admittedly not very clear. In the case of 这个东西太贵了 vs 这个东西太贵 I'd say the first one is more conversational, more emphatic, while the second form is more bland, more of a dry statement of the factual. There's also always a modicum of change or newness inherent in 了, so 'it was dry but it's raining now' -&gt; 下雨了, and also 'I didn't notice before, but now I see it's raining!'. So 这个东西太贵了 -&gt; 'wow, look, that's too expensive, whatcha think?'</p>

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2023-02-03T12:51:42.940Z
2023-02-03T12:51:42.940Z
John Frazer
<p>&quot;了&quot; starts being used for complete tenses, but also extends to concluding ideas.
那是有点儿贵 = That is a bit expensive.
那是有点儿贵了 = That turns out to be a bit expensive.</p>
<p>The &quot;...就...了&quot; in &quot;年轻人的休闲活动就更多了&quot; can be translated to &quot;As a result, ...&quot; or &quot;After that, ...&quot;. The cause should have been mentioned before.</p>
<p>The &quot;了&quot; in &quot;太贵了&quot;, means &quot;In conclusion&quot; or implies &quot;this is my conclusion, end of discussion...&quot;. Usually, no alternative ideas are expected after &quot;了&quot;.</p>

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2023-02-03T16:46:40.320Z
2023-02-03T16:46:40.320Z
Chun-Chung Chen
<p>What is the purpose of 了 in</p>
<p>那是有点儿贵了。</p>
<p>Also in</p>
<p>年轻人的休闲活动就更多了。</p>
<p>Is the function of 了 in these sentences similar to expressions like &quot;太贵了&quot;?</p>

<grammar>
Purpose of 了 in 有点儿贵了
# Purpose of 了 in 有点儿贵了

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-02-03)

What is the purpose of 了 in

那是有点儿贵了。

Also in

年轻人的休闲活动就更多了。

Is the function of 了 in these sentences similar to expressions like "太贵了"?

**Tags:** grammar


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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2023-02-03. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

"了" starts being used for complete tenses, but also extends to concluding ideas.
那是有点儿贵 = That is a bit expensive.
那是有点儿贵了 = That turns out to be a bit expensive.

The "...就...了" in "年轻人的休闲活动就更多了" can be translated to "As a result, ..." or "After that, ...". The cause should have been mentioned before.

The "了" in "太贵了", means "In conclusion" or implies "this is my conclusion, end of discussion...". Usually, no alternative ideas are expected after "了".


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### Answer by username_1 on 2023-02-03. Score: 2

那是有點兒貴了：

了 is frequently used in phrases such as 太...了/too...、最...了/most...、etc. this is the same structure but with 有点儿...了/a little too...

here it is the same grammatical use of 了 in 太貴了, but the two phrases do not mean the same thing.

年輕人的休閒活動就更多了：

personally I would read 更多了 as one vocab term, a variation of 多了. 多了 would be much more, so I would write 更多了 as much much more.

Its hard to define 了 here in english, honestly. Terms with no english equivalent are not forgiving-- I can't say its the same as the 了 in 太貴了 but I can't actually say whats different either. I would just leave it at saying that it is a different structure from 太貴了. It is more like a 比 structure with the implied 比 comparison to older people left out. so keep that in mind :)


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### Answer by username_2 on 2023-02-03. Score: 1

I believe the 了 in both of your examples should be regarded as so-called 'modal particles', a.k.a. 'mood particle'. Quote Wikipedia:

> They are used to indicate how the speaker thinks that the content of the sentence relates to the participants' common knowledge[1] or add mood to the meaning of the sentence.[2] Languages that use many modal particles in their spoken form include Dutch, Danish, German, Hungarian, Russian, Telugu, Nepali, Indonesian, Chinese and Japanese.[3] The translation is often not straightforward and depends on the context.

The important bit here is 'the translation is often not straightforward'; one might add: 'and is often hard to pin down even for native speakers'. I just had a conversation about this 'filler' or 'ballast' words with several other native German speakers, and my partners were convinced that those words 'mean nothing'. Yet the German Wikipedia article linked below does give explanations for a number of the more frequently used modal particles in German.

* <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modal_particle>
* <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modalpartikel>

This source:

* <https://www.writtenchinese.com/complete-guide-chinese-modal-particles/>

says that

> “了” can be used at the end of a declarative sentence to express affirmative mood. The meaning is “it has been done” or “it will be that”.
>
> 我看了今天的报纸了。 (wǒ kàn le jīn tiān de bào zhǐ le) I have read today‘s newspaper.
>
> 要下雨了。 (yào xià yǔ le) It is going to rain.

The second example is the classical one that is always brought up in this connection, and the first is admittedly not very clear. In the case of 这个东西太贵了 vs 这个东西太贵 I'd say the first one is more conversational, more emphatic, while the second form is more bland, more of a dry statement of the factual. There's also always a modicum of change or newness inherent in 了, so 'it was dry but it's raining now' -> 下雨了, and also 'I didn't notice before, but now I see it's raining!'. So 这个东西太贵了 -> 'wow, look, that's too expensive, whatcha think?'


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