Expressing duration of inaction
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
- 1 Structure
- 2 Examples
- 3 See also
- 4 Sources and further reading
Structure
Expressing how long something has not been done is slightly different to expressing the Expressing ongoing duration with double "le".
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, 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
Expressing ongoing duration with double "le"
Uses of le
Sources and further reading
Books
Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 231-2) →buy