{{Grammar Box}} 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. == Basic Usage == === Structure === Saying ''how long'' you did something ''for'' in Chinese can seem tricky, as there is no preposition as in English. Instead it's all about word order:
Subj. + Verb + 了 + Duration + Obj.
So 了 (le) is placed after the verb (to indicate that [[Expressing completion with "le"|the action is completed]]), followed by the duration. This is how you talk about the duration of completed actions. === Examples ===
* 他 学 了 一 年 中文。Tā xué le yī nián Zhōngwén.He studied Chinese for a year. * 我 看 了 一 个 晚上 书。Wǒ kàn le yī gè wǎnshang shū.I read books all evening. * 妈妈 看 了 一 天 电视。Māma kàn le yī tiān diànshì.Mom watched TV all day. * 他 在 Google 做 了 八 年 经理。 Tā zài Google zuò le bā nián jīnglǐ.He worked as a manager at Google for eight years. * 我们 坐 了 十五 个 小时 飞机 去 美国。Wǒmen zuò le shíwǔ gè xiǎoshí fēijī qù Měiguó.We took a fifteen hour flight to the United States.
== To Express "Definitely Concluded" == === Structure === Note that the previous pattern can be used to express the duration of completed actions ''which are no longer in progress'', 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 [[Time words and word order|time word]] may be inserted into the sentence to indicate that you're talking about an event in the past:
Subj. + [Time Word] + Verb + 了 + Duration + Obj.
=== Examples ===
* 昨天 他 写 了 一 天 作业。Zuótiān tā xiě le yī tiān zuòyè. He did his homework all day yesterday. * 我 刚才 打 了 半 个 小时 电话。 Wǒ gāngcái dǎ le bàn gè xiǎoshí diànhuà.I was on the phone for half an hour. * 他 今天 喝 了 一 个 晚上 酒。 Tā jīntiān hē le yī gè wǎnshang jiǔ.He drank alcohol all night. * 我 昨天 玩 了 一 个 下午 游戏。Wǒ zuótiān wán le yī gè xiàwǔ yóuxì.Yesterday, I played games all afternoon. * 上 个 周末 我 和 老公 开 了 三 个 小时 车 回 老家。Shàng gè zhōumò wǒ hé lǎogōng kāi le sān gè xiǎoshí chē huí lǎojiā.Last weekend, my husband and I drove three hours to our hometown.
To indicate that the action is ''definitely still in progress'', use a [[Expressing ongoing duration with double "le"|slightly different pattern]]. ==See also== *[[Expressing duration of inaction]] *[[Uses of le]] == Sources and further reading == === Books === * [[Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed)]] (pp. 118-9) [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] * [[Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition]] (pp. 90-1) [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] *[[40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册）]] (p. 173)[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] [[Category:A2 grammar points]] {{Basic Grammar|了|A2|Verb + 了 + Duration|他 在 北京 住 了 两 年。|grammar point|ASGJ36VN}} {{Similar|Expressing duration of inaction}} {{Similar|Expressing ongoing duration with double "le"}} {{Similar|Uses of le}} {{POS|Verbs}} {{Used for|Expressing duration}} {{Used for|Referring to the past}} {{Used for|Expressing time and date}} {{Subprop|Verb phrases}}