Expressing ongoing duration with double "le"

Structure

Expressing how long you did something for in the past is one thing, but what if the action is still ongoing?

A clarifying example (in English) is appropriate:

• I lived in Shanghai for 5 years. (completed, not ongoing)
• I have lived in Shanghai for 5 years. (perhaps completed, but mostly likely ongoing)
• I have been living in Shanghai for 5 years. (definitely ongoing)

This article is about expressing the third situation above, the one which is ongoing.

Subject + Verb + 了 + Duration + 了

So 了 is first placed after the verb (to indicate that the action is completed), followed by the duration, followed by an additional 了 which tells us that the action is ongoing. You can think of the second 了 (marked in green below) as communicating the meaning of "up until now."

Examples

• 他 在 北京 住 了 两 年 了。
• 你 学 了 一 年 了 。
• 我 做 了 半 个 小时 了 。
• 我 喝 了 三 个 小时 了 。

Note that in the examples above, the verbs have no objects. When the verb has an object, the verb is often repeated:

Subject + Verb + Object + Verb + 了 + Duration + 了

• 他 住 在 北京 住 了 两 年 了 。
• 你 学 中文 学 了 一 年 了 。
• 我 上网 上 了 六 个 小时 了 。
• 我们 吃饭 吃 了 三 个 小时 了 。

Sources and further reading

Books

• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 68) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 13 - 14) →buy

Websites

• Yale: The Perfective –Le了 Versus The Modal Particle Le了
• East Asia Student: 了 grammar: four kinds of 了 in Mandarin