<p>None of these sentences are spoken in a native way. Let me correct them for you:</p>

<ol>
<li>我（昨晚）吃完了饭然后看了电影。 （Used to describe what I did last night, for example.)</li>
<li>我吃完饭以后会看电影。（Describe What I'll do after I have dinner.)</li>
<li>我吃了饭以后会看电影。 （Basically have the same meaning as 2)</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-11-23T01:18:13.170Z
2013-11-25T16:21:18.687Z
2013-11-25T16:21:18.687Z
Catiger3331
<p>When translating sentences that are in the past into Chinese it is always best to use time markers such as "yesterday", "this morning," etc. It is time markers that put sentences in a "time context," not "了" or other particles. Strictly speaking your sentences are not equivalent, because they are ambiguous when it comes to tense. Sentence 2, for example, could be in the past, present or future tense depending on context. Something similar is going on in the other two sentences. As to how to translate your sentence, I would use the pattern I would use the pattern "先...再" (or 然后) and "了" or the word "接着" and "了."</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-04-01T19:04:24.320Z
Yes, I understand - I guess with some time word specified, it wouldn't be so ambiguous. Thank you!
Icarus
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-03-03T08:28:59.940Z
2012-03-03T08:28:59.940Z
Hiro
<p>all three sentences are grammatically correct. the first one may be a little colloquial but it is definitely something i would use in a daily conversation. The real problem is: They are <strong>ambiguous</strong>. it is impossible to tell if it happened in the past, present, or future. ttt555 gives one possible, but not the only interpretation for each sentence. my observation is that, however, if no particles indicating tense is found near a verb, then it'd be normally understood as present or future tense. in your three sentences, none of them have such a particle for 看. Therefore, i'd naturally interpret ALL of them to be a prediction of the future, rather than something happened in the past.</p>

<p>I would recommend</p>

<p>我吃过饭以后看了电影。</p>

<p>to describe these events that occurred in the past. note that i replaced the first 了 with a 过 to avoid repetition. Also, i think keeping 以后 here helps making the sentence less ambiguous and getting rid of the "colloquial" flavour as found in your first sentence.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-08T14:59:29.893Z
Replacing 了 with 过 is (if I recall correctly) a Southern dialectal feature that is not possible in most Northern dialects. It certainly sounds quite odd to me. If I wanted to avoid repetition, I would simply drop the first 了, which is somewhat redundant anyway, since there is one after 看. 吃饭之后我看了一部电影 (_vel sim_)
Janus Bahs Jacquet
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-08T20:09:16.770Z
Even if it originated from southern dialects, it is definitely spoken all over china nowadays. I have had very little contact with people from the south of Yangtze River before the age of 18, but I had been using 过 since a very young age. Your sentence is good as well, but I still feel inserting a particle in the place of the first 了 is a more natural solution. Another possibility is 我吃完饭以后...
Mingjing Zhang
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-07T21:53:10.950Z
2013-12-07T21:53:10.950Z
Mingjing Zhang
<p>I'm not a native speaker, but I don't like the first sentence, I don't think it's correct.</p>

<p>To me the 2nd sentence implies a future event (I will watch a movie after I eat), whereas the 3rd sentence implies a past event (I watched a movie after I ate) although I would like to ask a native speaker whether there should be another 了 in that sentence such as 我吃了饭以后看电影了.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-02-28T16:21:49.483Z
Thanks! The first sentence is structurally and grammatically correct, although I was confused about the meaning.
Icarus
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-02-28T00:31:52.687Z
2012-02-28T00:31:52.687Z
Dan
<p>I would like to say something. </p>

<p>These 3 sentences represented a trait in Chinese, that is there is no very explicit tense in the verb of this language. So actually, they can be correctly understood as the exactly same meaning - I will watch TV after eating dinner.</p>

<p>Unless they provide more information like time or other adverb to tell you if it happened or is happening or finished already, either way is right.</p>

<p>So I think all of the answers above are right since no enough information provided. Furthermore, I don't think it is necessary to distinguish the meanings like tttt555's answer, because when the same sentence in a different environment or different paragraph, the 3 meanings can exchange each other without generating any mistake. This is Chinese, it is the same situation like news title 山东队大败河南队, you never know who actually won unless you read the details in the paragraph.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-11-26T06:18:38.180Z
2013-11-26T06:18:38.180Z
tomriddle_1234
<p>Briefly, I'd parse them as</p>

<ol>
<li>I ate dinner and watched a movie.</li>
<li>I'll watch a movie after I eat dinner.</li>
<li>After I　ate dinner, I watched a movie. OR I'll watch a movie after I've eaten dinner.</li>
</ol>

<p>以后 corresponds exactly to the English equivalent of 'after', while 了 has some more leeway in how it's used. All three of your sentences imply that you ate, and then you watched a movie (arguable for the first. The English equivalent would probably be "I ate food, <strong>then</strong> watched a movie"). I think 3 would be the closest in meaning to your original sentence. Although if you said that before a meal time, I'd assume you meant the upcoming meal, while if it was late at night, I'd assume that you'd already ate and watched.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-02-28T16:26:26.280Z
As @Dan asked, do you think 我吃了饭以后看电影了 will make the 3rd sentence clearer, to mean that both actions have been completed?
Icarus
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-02-28T16:37:29.870Z
I think I would say 我吃了饭以后看了电影, but to be honest, I'm not entirely sure what is more 'grammatically' correct!
tttt555
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-02-28T16:42:24.230Z
I'd also add that 我吃完饭看了电影 would also be an alternative, but doesn't use 以后.
tttt555
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-03-04T19:31:19.423Z
I think my text book uses "... le jiu..." to indicate something occuring after something else. Ie: 我吃饭了就看电影。I left the book at the office so I can't confirm.
Phil Gan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-04-01T19:00:39.860Z
@PhilGan: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the exact meaning of that would be 'As soon as I had food, I watched a movie.' I guess it could be used, depending on the situation.
Icarus
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-11-23T06:39:36.513Z
`我吃了饭看电影` sounds to me like `I haven't had the dinner yet -- let me have my dinner first before watching the film`. `I ate dinner and watched a movie` would be `我吃了饭看了电影`
user58955
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-08T14:55:21.223Z
@Phil, 我吃饭了就看电影 is a bit ill-formed. It could be seen as two separate sentences (more likely with a 吧 at the end) meaning, “I’m eating now, let’s just watch a movie [instead]”. I think you meant 我吃了饭就看电影, which means “I’m going to watch a movie when/as soon as I’m done eating”; or indeed 我吃了饭就看了电影 “I watched a movie when/as soon as I was done eating”.
Janus Bahs Jacquet
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-02-28T01:45:18.913Z
2012-02-28T01:45:18.913Z
tttt555
<p>For the sentence 'I watched a movie after I had food', are the following translations equivalent? Additionally, is the 3rd translation incorrect (is the ...了...以后... usage valid)?</p>

<ol>
<li>我吃<b>了</b>饭看电影。</li>
<li>我吃饭<b>以后</b>看电影。</li>
<li>我吃<b>了</b>饭<b>以后</b>看电影。</li>
</ol>

<p>Thank you.</p>

<grammar><sentence-structure>
Usage of 了 and 以后
# Usage of 了 and 以后

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-02-27)

For the sentence 'I watched a movie after I had food', are the following translations equivalent? Additionally, is the 3rd translation incorrect (is the ...了...以后... usage valid)?

1. 我吃**了**饭看电影。
2. 我吃饭**以后**看电影。
3. 我吃**了**饭**以后**看电影。

Thank you.

**Tags:** grammar, sentence-structure


---

## 6 answers

### Answer by username_7 on 2012-02-28. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

Briefly, I'd parse them as

1. I ate dinner and watched a movie.
2. I'll watch a movie after I eat dinner.
3. After I　ate dinner, I watched a movie. OR I'll watch a movie after I've eaten dinner.

以后 corresponds exactly to the English equivalent of 'after', while 了 has some more leeway in how it's used. All three of your sentences imply that you ate, and then you watched a movie (arguable for the first. The English equivalent would probably be "I ate food, **then** watched a movie"). I think 3 would be the closest in meaning to your original sentence. Although if you said that before a meal time, I'd assume you meant the upcoming meal, while if it was late at night, I'd assume that you'd already ate and watched.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: As @username_5 asked, do you think 我吃了饭以后看电影了 will make the 3rd sentence clearer, to mean that both actions have been completed?  
> **username_7**: I think I would say 我吃了饭以后看了电影, but to be honest, I'm not entirely sure what is more 'grammatically' correct!  
> **username_7**: I'd also add that 我吃完饭看了电影 would also be an alternative, but doesn't use 以后.  
> **username_8**: I think my text book uses "... le jiu..." to indicate something occuring after something else. Ie: 我吃饭了就看电影。I left the book at the office so I can't confirm.  
> **username_0**: @username_8: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the exact meaning of that would be 'As soon as I had food, I watched a movie.' I guess it could be used, depending on the situation.  
> **username_9**: `我吃了饭看电影` sounds to me like `I haven't had the dinner yet -- let me have my dinner first before watching the film`. `I ate dinner and watched a movie` would be `我吃了饭看了电影`  
> **username_4**: @username_8, 我吃饭了就看电影 is a bit ill-formed. It could be seen as two separate sentences (more likely with a 吧 at the end) meaning, “I’m eating now, let’s just watch a movie [instead]”. I think you meant 我吃了饭就看电影, which means “I’m going to watch a movie when/as soon as I’m done eating”; or indeed 我吃了饭就看了电影 “I watched a movie when/as soon as I was done eating”.  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2013-11-23. Score: 2

None of these sentences are spoken in a native way. Let me correct them for you:

1. 我（昨晚）吃完了饭然后看了电影。 （Used to describe what I did last night, for example.)
2. 我吃完饭以后会看电影。（Describe What I'll do after I have dinner.)
3. 我吃了饭以后会看电影。 （Basically have the same meaning as 2)


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2012-03-03. Score: 2

When translating sentences that are in the past into Chinese it is always best to use time markers such as "yesterday", "this morning," etc. It is time markers that put sentences in a "time context," not "了" or other particles. Strictly speaking your sentences are not equivalent, because they are ambiguous when it comes to tense. Sentence 2, for example, could be in the past, present or future tense depending on context. Something similar is going on in the other two sentences. As to how to translate your sentence, I would use the pattern I would use the pattern "先...再" (or 然后) and "了" or the word "接着" and "了."

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Yes, I understand - I guess with some time word specified, it wouldn't be so ambiguous. Thank you!  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2013-12-07. Score: 1

all three sentences are grammatically correct. the first one may be a little colloquial but it is definitely something i would use in a daily conversation. The real problem is: They are **ambiguous**. it is impossible to tell if it happened in the past, present, or future. ttt555 gives one possible, but not the only interpretation for each sentence. my observation is that, however, if no particles indicating tense is found near a verb, then it'd be normally understood as present or future tense. in your three sentences, none of them have such a particle for 看. Therefore, i'd naturally interpret ALL of them to be a prediction of the future, rather than something happened in the past.

I would recommend

我吃过饭以后看了电影。

to describe these events that occurred in the past. note that i replaced the first 了 with a 过 to avoid repetition. Also, i think keeping 以后 here helps making the sentence less ambiguous and getting rid of the "colloquial" flavour as found in your first sentence.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Replacing 了 with 过 is (if I recall correctly) a Southern dialectal feature that is not possible in most Northern dialects. It certainly sounds quite odd to me. If I wanted to avoid repetition, I would simply drop the first 了, which is somewhat redundant anyway, since there is one after 看. 吃饭之后我看了一部电影 (_vel sim_)  
> **username_3**: Even if it originated from southern dialects, it is definitely spoken all over china nowadays. I have had very little contact with people from the south of Yangtze River before the age of 18, but I had been using 过 since a very young age. Your sentence is good as well, but I still feel inserting a particle in the place of the first 了 is a more natural solution. Another possibility is 我吃完饭以后...  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2012-02-28. Score: 0

I'm not a native speaker, but I don't like the first sentence, I don't think it's correct.

To me the 2nd sentence implies a future event (I will watch a movie after I eat), whereas the 3rd sentence implies a past event (I watched a movie after I ate) although I would like to ask a native speaker whether there should be another 了 in that sentence such as 我吃了饭以后看电影了.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks! The first sentence is structurally and grammatically correct, although I was confused about the meaning.  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2013-11-26. Score: 0

I would like to say something.

These 3 sentences represented a trait in Chinese, that is there is no very explicit tense in the verb of this language. So actually, they can be correctly understood as the exactly same meaning - I will watch TV after eating dinner.

Unless they provide more information like time or other adverb to tell you if it happened or is happening or finished already, either way is right.

So I think all of the answers above are right since no enough information provided. Furthermore, I don't think it is necessary to distinguish the meanings like username_7's answer, because when the same sentence in a different environment or different paragraph, the 3 meanings can exchange each other without generating any mistake. This is Chinese, it is the same situation like news title 山东队大败河南队, you never know who actually won unless you read the details in the paragraph.


---

