ChineseGrammarWiki/MD/A2/64.mw

{{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:

<div class="jiegou">

Subj. + Verb + 了 + Duration + Obj.

</div>

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 ===

<div class="liju">

* 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>
* 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>
* 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>
* 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>
* 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>


</div>

== 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:

<div class="jiegou">

Subj. + [Time Word] + Verb + 了 + Duration + Obj.

</div>

=== Examples ===

<div class="liju">

* 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>
* 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>
* 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>
* 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>
* 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>
</div>

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 <em>了 两 年</em>。|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}}