<!DOCTYPE html> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <meta name="generator" content= "HTML Tidy for HTML5 for Linux version 5.2.0" /> <title></title> </head> <body> <p>Whether you need to express how long you lived somewhere, how long you studied astrophysics, or how long you worked as a mime, you'll need to use 了 (le) to express that time duration.</p> <h2 id="basic-usage">Basic Usage</h2> <h3 id="structure">Structure</h3> <p>Saying <em>how long</em> you did something <em>for</em> in Chinese can seem tricky, as there is no preposition as in English. Instead it's all about word order:</p> <div class="jiegou"> <p>Subj. + Verb + 了 + Duration + Obj.</p> </div> <p>So 了 (le) is placed after the verb (to indicate that <a href= "Expressing_completion_with_"le"" title="wikilink">the action is completed</a>), followed by the duration. This is how you talk about the duration of completed actions.</p> <h3 id="examples">Examples</h3> <div class="liju"> <ul> <li>他 学 了 <em>一 年</em> 中文。<span class="pinyin">Tā xué le <em>yī nián</em> Zhōngwén.</span><span class="trans">He studied Chinese for a year.</span></li> <li>我 看 了 <em>一 个 晚上</em> 书。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ kàn le <em>yī gè wǎnshang</em> shū.</span><span class="trans">I read books all evening.</span></li> <li>妈妈 看 了 <em>一 天</em> 电视。<span class="pinyin">Māma kàn le <em>yī tiān</em> diànshì.</span><span class="trans">Mom watched TV all day.</span></li> <li>他 在 Google 做 了 <em>八 年</em> 经理。 <span class="pinyin">Tā zài Google zuò le <em>bā nián</em> jīnglǐ.</span><span class="trans">He worked as a manager at Google for eight years.</span></li> <li>我们 坐 了 <em>十五 个 小时</em> 飞机 去 美国。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen zuò le <em>shíwǔ gè xiǎoshí</em> fēijī qù Měiguó.</span><span class= "trans">We took a fifteen hour flight to the United States.</span></li> </ul> </div> <h2 id="to-express-definitely-concluded">To Express "Definitely Concluded"</h2> <h3 id="structure-1">Structure</h3> <p>Note that the previous pattern can be used to express the duration of completed actions <em>which are no longer in progress</em>, although strictly speaking, it's not entirely clear if the actions are still ongoing or not. To indicate that the actions are definitely concluded (not ongoing), a <a href= "Time_words_and_word_order" title="wikilink">time word</a> may be inserted into the sentence to indicate that you're talking about an event in the past:</p> <div class="jiegou"> <p>Subj. + [Time Word] + Verb + 了 + Duration + Obj.</p> </div> <h3 id="examples-1">Examples</h3> <div class="liju"> <ul> <li>昨天 他 写 了 <em>一 天</em> 作业。<span class="pinyin">Zuótiān tā xiě le <em>yī tiān</em> zuòyè.</span> <span class="trans">He did his homework all day yesterday.</span></li> <li>我 刚才 打 了 <em>半 个 小时</em> 电话。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ gāngcái dǎ le <em>bàn gè xiǎoshí</em> diànhuà.</span><span class="trans">I was on the phone for half an hour.</span></li> <li>他 今天 喝 了 <em>一 个 晚上</em> 酒。 <span class="pinyin">Tā jīntiān hē le <em>yī gè wǎnshang</em> jiǔ.</span><span class="trans">He drank alcohol all night.</span></li> <li>我 昨天 玩 了 <em>一 个 下午</em> 游戏。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ zuótiān wán le <em>yī gè xiàwǔ</em> yóuxì.</span><span class="trans">Yesterday, I played games all afternoon.</span></li> <li>上 个 周末 我 和 老公 开 了 <em>三 个 小时</em> 车 回 老家。<span class= "pinyin">Shàng gè zhōumò wǒ hé lǎogōng kāi le <em>sān gè xiǎoshí</em> chē huí lǎojiā.</span><span class="trans">Last weekend, my husband and I drove three hours to our hometown.</span></li> </ul> </div> <p>To indicate that the action is <em>definitely still in progress</em>, use a <a href= "Expressing_ongoing_duration_with_double_"le"" title= "wikilink">slightly different pattern</a>.</p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul> <li><a href="Expressing_duration_of_inaction" title= "wikilink">Expressing duration of inaction</a></li> <li><a href="Uses_of_le" title="wikilink">Uses of le</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further reading</h2> <h3 id="books">Books</h3> <ul> <li><a href="Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_2_(3rd_ed)" title= "wikilink">Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed)</a> (pp. 118-9) <a href= "http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276709/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276709"> →buy</a></li> <li><a href="Chinese:_An_Essential_Grammar,_Second_Edition" title= "wikilink">Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition</a> (pp. 90-1) <a href= "http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415372615/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0415372615"> →buy</a></li> <li><a href= "40_Lessons_for_Basic_Chinese_Course_(%E5%9F%BA%E7%A1%80%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD40%E8%AF%BE%E4%B8%8A%E5%86%8C%EF%BC%89" title="wikilink">40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册）</a> (p. 173)<a href= "http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FTL8D8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001FTL8D8&linkCode=as2&tag=allset-20">→buy</a></li> </ul> <p><a href="Category:A2_grammar_points" title= "wikilink">Category:A2 grammar points</a></p> </body> </html>