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[What links
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[](http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1286538933)
[](# "wikilink")
Expressing duration of inaction
===============================
[](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/ASGSVF28)
-
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)
[{width="300"
height="300"}](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/File:Chinese-grammar-wiki-mei.jpg)
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")
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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