<ol>
<li><p>Yes. It is.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Yes, you can say the sentence without &quot;了&quot;, but the two sentences mean differently.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li><p>请告诉她我不能跟她去看电影<strong>了</strong> - Please tell her that I can't go with her to the movie <strong>now</strong>.</p>
</li>
<li><p>请告诉她我不能跟她去看电影 - Please tell her that I can't go with her to the movie.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>While the first sentence indicates &quot;I promised her before to go to the movie with her later, but now the situation has changed.&quot;; the second indicates that you plain refuse, or are reluctant, to go with her to a movie. It is likely you will hurt her feeling by telling her this way.</p>
<ol start="3">
<li>Revised per OP's inputs in comment:</li>
</ol>
<p>Case a. Both of you agreed to meet, but later turns out that you can't make it,  you shall say: &quot;請告訴她我今晚不䏻去<strong>了</strong>&quot;.</p>
<p>Case b. She invited you to meet; you responded with &quot;再說吧&quot;. For this case, you can say</p>
<ul>
<li><p>i) to a person you like: &quot;請告訴她我今晚不䏻去<strong>了</strong>&quot;. Here, &quot;了&quot; soften the tune of the negative answer, and implies &quot;sorry, I thought there is a chance I can go, but now I really can't&quot;.</p>
</li>
<li><p>ii) to a person you don't care: &quot;(請)告訴她我今晚不䏻去&quot;. - I didn't promise you anything, so be it.</p>
</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-08-25T09:21:29.030Z
Amazing thank you.  By point 3 I mean, how would you convey the differences between these two situations: (1) 10:00 we have agreed to meet later, 15:00 I realise we can't meet, 17:00 "Please tell her we can't meet"; (2) 10:00 AM, we discuss meeting alter but don't make any firm decision, 15:00 I realise we can't meet, 17:00 "Please tell her we can't met"
Nmdy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-08-25T09:22:16.813Z
I was under the impression that the addition of 了 made it situation 1, and you say above, so I was wondering how you show situation 2, using the same sentence.
Nmdy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-08-24T20:14:15.273Z
2022-08-25T12:58:31.820Z
2022-08-25T12:58:31.820Z
r13
<p>请告诉她我不能跟她去看电影了：Please tell her I can't go to the movies with her because I'm in a hurry this time, but welcome to the next date.</p>
<p>请告诉她我不能跟她去看电影：Please tell her it's impossible for me to go to the movies with her and stop trying to date me.</p>
<p>10:00 we have agreed to meet later, 15:00 I realise we can't meet, 17:00 &quot;Please tell her we can't meet&quot;: 请代我向她致歉，我事去不了了，下次再约吧。To go back on an already decided date, we usually apologize and welcome another date, lest the other person think we have a problem with her.</p>
<p>10:00 AM, we discuss meeting alter but don't make any firm decision, 15:00 I realise we can't meet, 17:00 &quot;Please tell her we can't met&quot;: 请替我告诉她，我有事去不了了，约会取消吧。There is no need to apologize because the date has not yet been decided, just articulate your decision.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-08-28T03:49:20.497Z
If you really want to indicate "stop trying to date me", you can say 请告诉她我不想跟她去看电影, or more seriously, 请告诉她我不会跟她去看电影。
PdotWang
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-08-28T12:33:59.753Z
Well, I just wanted to exaggerate the difference between the two.
埃博拉酱
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-08-26T11:45:48.810Z
2022-08-26T11:45:48.810Z
埃博拉酱
<p>请告诉她我不能跟她去看电影了. Yes, &quot;了&quot; means &quot;change of state&quot;. I told her earlier that I would go with her. Now something else interrupted my plan. “不能...了” indicates that I am in a passive position.</p>
<p>请告诉她我不能跟她去看电影. Without “了”, more likely, I give her an answer (not a change). “不能...” indicates that I am unable to do that. It may also indicate that I am in a passive position.</p>
<p>Without “了”, it is not necessarily a negative statement.</p>
<p>If you really want to indicate &quot;do not date me&quot;, you can say 请告诉她我不想跟她去看电影, or more seriously, 请告诉她我不会跟她去看电影。请告诉她我才不会跟她去看电影呢。</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-08-28T03:35:04.907Z
2022-08-28T13:20:15.647Z
2022-08-28T13:20:15.647Z
PdotWang
<p>Is it the &quot;change of state&quot; sentence-end particle?</p>
<p>If so, can you say this sentence without it?</p>
<p>And if not, how do you convey the difference between:</p>
<p>(She already knows, the situation hasn't changed) vs. (This is news, we had plans, but it turns out it won't work)</p>

<grammar><particles>
What is the function of 了 in 请告诉她我不能跟她去看电影了？
# What is the function of 了 in 请告诉她我不能跟她去看电影了？

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-08-24)

Is it the "change of state" sentence-end particle?

If so, can you say this sentence without it?

And if not, how do you convey the difference between:

(She already knows, the situation hasn't changed) vs. (This is news, we had plans, but it turns out it won't work)

**Tags:** grammar, particles

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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-08-24. Score: 3

1. Yes. It is.
2. Yes, you can say the sentence without "了", but the two sentences mean differently.

* 请告诉她我不能跟她去看电影**了** - Please tell her that I can't go with her to the movie **now**.
* 请告诉她我不能跟她去看电影 - Please tell her that I can't go with her to the movie.

While the first sentence indicates "I promised her before to go to the movie with her later, but now the situation has changed."; the second indicates that you plain refuse, or are reluctant, to go with her to a movie. It is likely you will hurt her feeling by telling her this way.

3. Revised per OP's inputs in comment:

Case a. Both of you agreed to meet, but later turns out that you can't make it, you shall say: "請告訴她我今晚不䏻去**了**".

Case b. She invited you to meet; you responded with "再說吧". For this case, you can say

* i) to a person you like: "請告訴她我今晚不䏻去**了**". Here, "了" soften the tune of the negative answer, and implies "sorry, I thought there is a chance I can go, but now I really can't".
* ii) to a person you don't care: "(請)告訴她我今晚不䏻去". - I didn't promise you anything, so be it.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Amazing thank you.  By point 3 I mean, how would you convey the differences between these two situations: (1) 10:00 we have agreed to meet later, 15:00 I realise we can't meet, 17:00 "Please tell her we can't meet"; (2) 10:00 AM, we discuss meeting alter but don't make any firm decision, 15:00 I realise we can't meet, 17:00 "Please tell her we can't met"  
> **username_0**: I was under the impression that the addition of 了 made it situation 1, and you say above, so I was wondering how you show situation 2, using the same sentence.  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2022-08-26. Score: 2

请告诉她我不能跟她去看电影了：Please tell her I can't go to the movies with her because I'm in a hurry this time, but welcome to the next date.

请告诉她我不能跟她去看电影：Please tell her it's impossible for me to go to the movies with her and stop trying to date me.

10:00 we have agreed to meet later, 15:00 I realise we can't meet, 17:00 "Please tell her we can't meet": 请代我向她致歉，我事去不了了，下次再约吧。To go back on an already decided date, we usually apologize and welcome another date, lest the other person think we have a problem with her.

10:00 AM, we discuss meeting alter but don't make any firm decision, 15:00 I realise we can't meet, 17:00 "Please tell her we can't met": 请替我告诉她，我有事去不了了，约会取消吧。There is no need to apologize because the date has not yet been decided, just articulate your decision.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: If you really want to indicate "stop trying to date me", you can say 请告诉她我不想跟她去看电影, or more seriously, 请告诉她我不会跟她去看电影。  
> **username_2**: Well, I just wanted to exaggerate the difference between the two.  

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### Answer by username_3 on 2022-08-28. Score: 0

请告诉她我不能跟她去看电影了. Yes, "了" means "change of state". I told her earlier that I would go with her. Now something else interrupted my plan. “不能...了” indicates that I am in a passive position.

请告诉她我不能跟她去看电影. Without “了”, more likely, I give her an answer (not a change). “不能...” indicates that I am unable to do that. It may also indicate that I am in a passive position.

Without “了”, it is not necessarily a negative statement.

If you really want to indicate "do not date me", you can say 请告诉她我不想跟她去看电影, or more seriously, 请告诉她我不会跟她去看电影。请告诉她我才不会跟她去看电影呢。


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