HSK 1 · Lesson 15我昨天去了医院 I went to the hospital yesterday

The past: the particle 了 and negation with 没(有). Happening now: 正在…呢.

Speed:Male voice:

Dialogues

Were you ill?

A
昨天你怎么没来上课？
Zuótiān nǐ zěnme méi lái shàngkè?
Why didn’t you come to class yesterday?
B
我生病了，去了医院。
Wǒ shēngbìng le, qùle yīyuàn.
I was ill and went to the hospital.
A
医生说什么了？
Yīshēng shuō shénme le?
What did the doctor say?
B
他说我要多休息。
Tā shuō wǒ yào duō xiūxi.
He said I need to rest more.
A
现在你在做什么？
Xiànzài nǐ zài zuò shénme?
What are you doing now?
B
我正在准备考试呢。
Wǒ zhèngzài zhǔnbèi kǎoshì ne.
I’m preparing for the exam.

New words

📝 Worksheet for this lesson

Grammar

1. 了 — the action happened

Subject + verb + 了 + (object)

了 after a verb says the action took place: 我买了一本书 “I bought a book”. It is not a past tense: no 了 for past habits (我以前常常去 “I used to go often”). At the end of a sentence 了 often means “now it’s so”: 下雨了 “it has started raining”.

我昨天看了一个电影。
Wǒ zuótiān kànle yí ge diànyǐng.
I watched a film yesterday.
我找到我的手机了。
Wǒ zhǎodào wǒ de shǒujī le.
I found my phone.

2. Didn’t do it — 没(有), no 了

Subject + 没(有) + verb

To deny a completed action use 没 or 没有 and drop 了: 我没去 “I didn’t go” (not “我没去了”). 不 is for present/future and habits: 我不去 “I won’t go”.

他昨天没来。
Tā zuótiān méi lái.
He didn’t come yesterday.
你吃饭了吗？—还没吃。
Nǐ chīfàn le ma? — Hái méi chī.
Have you eaten? — Not yet.

3. 正在…呢 — happening right now

正在 / 在 before the verb and 呢 at the end show an action in progress: 我正在看书呢 “I’m reading right now”. Shorter: 我在看书.

妈妈正在做饭呢。
Māma zhèngzài zuò fàn ne.
Mum is cooking right now.

Exercises

1. Make it negative

  1. 我昨天去了医院。
    Answer
    我昨天没去医院。
  2. 他看见了老师。
    Answer
    他没看见老师。

2. 了, 没 or 不?

  1. 我昨天买___一本书。
    Answer
    了
  2. 我明天___去学校。
    Answer
    不
  3. 他昨天___来上课。
    Answer
    没

3. Translate

  1. What are you doing now?
    Answer
    你在做什么？
  2. I forgot his name.
    Answer
    我忘了他的名字。
  3. Are you ready for the exam?
    Answer
    你准备好考试了吗？

💡 Did you know?: What’s next

The core grammar of HSK 1 is behind you! Lessons 16–20 add the rest of the level’s words, questions like “whose?”, “where?”, “how do you like it?”, a new meaning of 了 and new kinds of exercises: multiple choice, listening, sentence building and dialogues where you answer yourself.

Phrase audio — Microsoft speech synthesis (voices Xiaoxiao, Yunyang, Yunxi); syllables and some words — native recordings (audio-cmn, CC BY-SA).