# 吃<过 / 了>饭再去



## anialuo

Hi,

I was wondering if the sentence 吃过饭再去 （‘过‘表示动作完毕） is excatly the same as 吃了饭再去。
In general, can ‘过’be replaced by '了' in such sentences without any change of meaning ?

Thanks for help!!!


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## xiaolijie

Yes, in THESE two sentences, 过 and 了 mean the same thing.


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## JieXian

Generally, when you use 过 after a verb to mean that it's finished, I think you can replace it with 了, and have similar meanings.

However, I would translate 过 and 了 differently into English. 
To me , "过 before" stresses the fact that you've done it before or experienced it before, while " 了 already" focuses more on the fact that you've    completed it already.  

If you were to ask a question, the difference in meaning is clear, but it is not so clear when it is a statement.

======
你 吃 过 香蕉 吗？
Have you eaten bananas before?
=======
你 吃 (完) 了 香蕉  吗？
Have you finished eating the bananas already? 
=====


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## BODYholic

I agreed with JieXian because when you have sentence like "吃过了". Your matter of replacement simply does not work. 



anialuo said:


> Hi,
> 
> I was wondering if the sentence 吃过饭再去 （‘过‘表示动作完毕） is excatly the same as 吃了饭再去。
> In general, can ‘过’be replaced by '了' in such sentences without any change of meaning ?
> 
> Thanks for help!!!


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## anialuo

> To me , "过 before" stresses the fact that you've done it before or experienced it before, while " 了 already" focuses more on the fact that you've completed it already.


 
Thanks, JieXian for the explanation. However, I was just thinking of the sentences like 'First (do sth).... and after/then...(having done it)' where 过 is used to stress the fact of finishing an activity and not experiencing something in the past.
So could I also say 写过作业再出去= 写了作业再出去???


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## xiaolijie

> Thanks, JieXian for the explanation. However, I was just thinking of the sentences like 'First (do sth).... and after/then...(having done it)' where 过 is used to stress the fact of finishing an activity and not experiencing something in the past.
> So could I also say 写过作业再出去= 写了作业再出去???


Anialuo, you seem to have missed out the reply that is most pertinent to your question and got distracted by the info that you have no need for


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## BODYholic

In this example, the difference is minute. Yes, you may use either phrase and it will be (hopefully) understood by native speakers. 

But typically I would say 
写完作业再出去
做完功课再出去
干完活儿再出去



anialuo said:


> So could I also say 写过作业再出去= 写了作业再出去???


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## JieXian

I agree with BODYholic, we hardly say 写过作业再出去, but instead, we say 写完作业再出去 or 写完作业再出去.

写过 just sounds weird and 过 will have other meanings when paired with different verbs, which may confuse people.

 My original reply was triple the length but I decided to remove some information which does not relate directly to your question, which was about 过, and also after consulting my sister who is in a Chinese medium high school to be absolutely sure.


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## anialuo

> I agree with BODYholic, we hardly say 写过作业再出去, but instead, we say 写完作业再出去 or 写完作业再出去.


 
Getting back to my first sentence:  吃过饭再去- would it be more natural to say 吃完饭再去?

I've found the sentence in a study book and have been trying to understand why 过 was used there...


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## Kevin70s

IMHO, Jiexian's reply in Post #3 is correct in its own right but may not be immediately relevant to Anialuo's question. 

@Anialuo,
The differences between 完, 过 and 了 in your given case （吃_再去）, in my opinion, are as follows:
Suppose one of your friends is asking you on the phone when you'll be going over to his place, you may reply in three different ways using respectively Wan, Guo and Le, each way being appropriate with slightly different connotations:

1. 我吃完饭再去：I'll go after I have finished my meal.
I'll go after I have finished eating my meal. 
I'll go after I have had my meal. 
In this case, you may or may not in the middle of your meal. It's more focusing on the completion of a process.

2. 我吃过饭再去：I'll go after I have had my meal.
(I'll have my meal first, and then I'll go over)
In this case, you are not in the middle of your meal.

3. 我吃了饭再去：I'll go after I have my meal.
In this case, your are very unlikely in the middel of your meal. Another very minor difference lies in that you tend to expect or plan it when you say 吃 (or whatever action) 过 + 饭 (or any other subject), whereas 吃 (or whatever action) 了 + 饭 (or any other subject) is simply stating the fact.

Note the difference between #1 and #2 in the following:
When a boy is in a hurry to leave for the cram school after eating his meal, his mother may say 

1. 吃过水果再走 It sounds like it is a regimen for this family to eat fruits after meals.

2. 吃了草莓再走 since she just bought some strawberries on her way home.

Now, think about the differences among 我喝完汤了, 我喝过汤了 and 我喝了汤了. The differences are similar but more telling than 吃...饭再去.

我喝完汤了： I have finished the soup. 
我喝过汤了： I have had soup.
我喝了汤：I had soup.


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## anialuo

Kevin70s, thank you for the explanation, it's of much help .


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## BODYholic

anialuo said:


> Getting back to my first sentence:  吃过饭再去- would it be more natural to say 吃完饭再去?
> 
> I've found the sentence in a study book and have been trying to understand why 过 was used there...



Do you have a context?

Yes, under most circumstances 吃完饭再去 is more natural.

JieXian gave a very good definition of "过" earlier. In term of usage, "过" tends to put emphasis on a duration or a process.

Offhand, I could only think of 1 main difference between "我吃完饭再去" and "我吃过饭再去". The former can be said before or *during *the meal proper. The latter is used before the meal and it sounds like a proposal to me. Once you have started eating, it doesn't make sense anymore to say "我吃过饭再去".


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## anialuo

I have no context to the sentence- it was just an example meant to explain the usage of 过 with  动作完毕...


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