Hello,

Someone tries on a new pair of pants and then they say:

这条裤子太大了。

or

这条裤子太小了。

What is the point of 了 since this is the first time they see the pants?

Thanks,

 

Basically, if the sentence is too short, we tend to add something to finish it...

You may refer to "no name" buddy for the detail usage of 了.
Also 太...了 is a common pattern. I think xiaolijie have said this in some other thread.

There are other patterns, for example, 是...的. 这件是大的. 那件是小的.

Or we may add mood particles, if we have any mood...
Such as 这件裤子太大么？这件裤子太大啦！...

 

No name's quote does not explain anything. I searched for the other threads and the best explanation I found so far is this (from a dictionary):

助 用在句尾或句中停顿的地方，表示感叹的语气。

So basically 了 can be an exclamatory particle at the end of sentences. This is the correct answer to my question.

Xie4 xie4,

 

了, here it is not important, you could say
这条裤子太大。it's the same.

 

By the way, you do not use 是 in this kind of sentences either, do you?

这条裤子是太大了.

Look forward to your confirmation, thanks in advance,
G.

 

In the context specified by the OP, 是 is not desired. In other contexts, 是 may be needed, for instance,
A: 你的裤子似乎大了些.
B: 这条裤子是太大了, 不過既然買了, 總得有人穿.
是 in the above sentence can be translated as "indeed" as a confirmation to the other speaker's statement/comment.

 

The word 太 indicates excessiveness, 了 is added to it as a kind of exclamation. The two often goes together, especially in speech.

是 in post #6 is used to signal contrast and you'll often see the contrast / contradiction in the sentence/ clause that follows it:
大是大，但是我很喜欢.

 

often but not always showing contrast, for instance,
A: 你的裤子似乎大了些.
B: 你說的对, 这条裤子是太大了, 我正盤算拿回去換.

 

As a more elaborate phrasing, then the function of 是 in this type of sentences can be said to highlight the following word for a number of communicative purposes: contrast, contradiction, confirmation, etc.

 

On a side note, if you were to write the same sentence using 不, you omit 了.

我的大学太大了。
我的大学不太大。