Expressing duration of inaction

Expressing how long someone has not been done is slightly different to expressing the duration of an action. The structure is:

Subject + Duration + 没 + Verb + Object + 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.

Some examples:

• 他 已经 三 天 没 洗澡 了。
• 我 两 个 月 没 喝 啤酒 了。
• 他们 十 个 小时 没 吃饭 了。