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Level

[B1](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/B1_grammar_points)

Similar to

- [Expressing duration with "le"](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_duration_with_%22le%22) (A2) - [Expressing ongoing duration with double "le"](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_ongoing_duration_with_double_%22le%22) (A2) - [Expressing "already" with "dou"](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22already%22_with_%22dou%22) (B1)

Used for

[Expressing duration](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_duration), [Referring to the past](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Referring_to_the_past)

Keywords

[没](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/%E6%B2%A1), [了](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/%E4%BA%86)

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Saying how long you have done something is pretty simple in Chinese. Saying how long you have *not* done something is just as easy.

Contents -------- [hide]([# "wikilink")\]

- [1 Structure](#Structure "wikilink") - [2 Examples](#Examples "wikilink") - [3 See also](#See_also "wikilink") - [4 Sources and further reading](#Sources_and_further_reading "wikilink") - [4.1 Books](#Books "wikilink")

Structure --------------------------------------------------------- Expressing how long something has *not* been done is slightly different to expressing the [Expressing ongoing duration with double "le"](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_duration).

Subj. + 已经 + Duration + 没 + Verb + 了

So now the duration comes right after the subject and 了 is at the end of the sentence. The verb has to be [negated with 没](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Negation_of_past_actions), as the action *hasn't* happened. Note that 已经 can be omitted. Examples -------------------------------------------------------

- 他们 **已经** 两天 *没* 吃东西 **了** 。Tāmen **yǐjīng** liǎng tiān *méi* chī dōngxi **le**.They have gone two days without eating anything. - 我们 **已经** 十年 *没* 见 **了**。Wǒmen **yǐjīng** shí nián *méi* jiàn **le**.It's been ten years since we last met. - 他 **已经** 一个星期 *没* 洗澡 **了** 。Tā **yǐjīng** yī gè xīngqī *méi* xǐzǎo **le**.He has already gone a whole week without showering. - 你多长时间 *没* 刮胡子 **了** ？Nǐ duō cháng shíjiān *méi* guā húzi **le**?How long has it been since you last shaved? - 她半个月 *没* 出门 **了** 。Tā bàn gè yuè *méi* chūmén **le**.It's been half a month since she last left the house. - 你们多久 *没* 回家 **了** ？Nǐmen duōjiǔ *méi* huíjiā **le**?How long has it been since you returned home? - 你多久 *没* 休假 **了** ？Nǐ duōjiǔ *méi* xiūjià **le**?How long has it been since your last vacation? - 买吧，你 **已经** 一年多 *没* 买新衣服 **了** 。Mǎi ba, nǐ **yǐjīng** yī nián duō *méi* mǎi xīn yīfu **le**.Just buy it. It's been more than one year since you last bought new clothes. - 你好像很久 *没* 这么开心 **了** 。Nǐ hǎoxiàng hěnjiǔ *méi* zhème kāixīn **le**.It seems like it's been a long time since you were this happy.

In English, we may say something like, "I haven't eaten since 9:00 this morning" or "I haven't been to China since the year 2000." Note that the Chinese do not tend to say somebody hasn't done something since a *certain point in time*. Instead, you should either express it as a duration of time that one hasn't done something (as in the above examples), or you can say "the last time somebody did something was \[a certain point in time\]."

- 我已经二十年 *没* 来中国 **了** 。Wǒ yǐjīng èrshí nián *méi* lái Zhōngguó **le**.It's been 20 years since I came to China last time. - 我 *上次* 来中国 *是* 二十年前。Wǒ *shàngcì* lái Zhōngguó *shì* èrshí nián qián.The last time I came to China was twenty years ago.

See also ------------------------------------------------------- - [Expressing duration](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_duration) - [Expressing ongoing duration with double "le"](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_ongoing_duration_with_double_%22le%22) - [Uses of le](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Uses_of_le) Sources and further reading --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ### Books - [Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed)](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_2_(3rd_ed)) (pp. 231-2) [→buy](http://amzn.to/2femBuy)

[Category](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Special:Categories): - [B1 grammar points](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Category:B1_grammar_points)

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