Expressing duration of inaction

Saying how long you have not done something is not difficult, but the word order is different from the regular pattern for expressing duration. If there's a consistent keyword in this pattern, it's going to be 没 (méi), since it almost always plays a role.

Structure

Remember, this pattern differs from both simple pattern for expressing duration and the pattern for ongoing duration.

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) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy