Difference between revisions of "Expressing duration of inaction"

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* 他 已经 <em>三 天</em> 没 洗澡 <em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">Tā yǐjīng <em>sān tiān</em> méi xǐzǎo <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">He has already gone three days without showering.</span>
 
* 他 已经 <em>三 天</em> 没 洗澡 <em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">Tā yǐjīng <em>sān tiān</em> méi xǐzǎo <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">He has already gone three days without showering.</span>
 
* 我 <em> 两年 </em> 没 抽烟 <em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>liǎng nián</em> méi chōuyān <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">It's been two years since I smoked.</span>
 
* 我 <em> 两年 </em> 没 抽烟 <em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>liǎng nián</em> méi chōuyān <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">It's been two years since I smoked.</span>
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* 你们  <em> 多长时间 </em> 没 回家 看 爸妈  <em>了</em>?<span class="pinyin"> Nǐmen <em> duō cháng shíjiān </em> méi huíjiā kàn bàmā <em>le</em>?</span><span class="trans"> How long has it been since the last time you went back home and visit your parent?</span>
 
* 我爷爷 去 了 台湾 以后 已经 <em>三十年</em> 没  回家<em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">  Wǒ yéye qù le tàiwān yǐhòu, yǐjīng <em> sānshí nián </em> méi  huíjiā <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">It's been 30 years since my grandpa left home for Taiwan.</span>
 
* 我爷爷 去 了 台湾 以后 已经 <em>三十年</em> 没  回家<em>了</em>。<span class="pinyin">  Wǒ yéye qù le tàiwān yǐhòu, yǐjīng <em> sānshí nián </em> méi  huíjiā <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">It's been 30 years since my grandpa left home for Taiwan.</span>
* 你们  <em> 多长时间 </em> 没 回家 看 爸妈  <em>了</em><span class="pinyin"> Nǐmen <em> duō cháng shíjiān </em> méi huíjiā kàn bàmā <em>le</em>?</span><span class="trans"> How long has it been since the last time you went back home and visit your parent?</span>
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* 她 妈妈 去世 以后,她 都 <em> 两个 多 月</em> 没 出门 <em>了</em><span class="pinyin"> Tā māma qùshì yǐhòu, tā dōu  <em> lǎing gè duō yuè </em> méi chūmén <em>le</em>.</span><span class="trans">She hasn't been out for more than two months since her mother passed away .</span>
 
 
  
 
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Revision as of 06:40, 8 September 2015

Saying how long you have done something is pretty simple in Chinese. Saying how long you have not done something is just as easy.

Structure

Expressing how long something has not been done is slightly different to expressing the duration of an action.

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.

Examples

  • 他 已经 三 天 没 洗澡 Tā yǐjīng sān tiān méi xǐzǎo le.He has already gone three days without showering.
  • 两年 没 抽烟 liǎng nián méi chōuyān le.It's been two years since I smoked.
  • 你们 多长时间 没 回家 看 爸妈 Nǐmen duō cháng shíjiān méi huíjiā kàn bàmā le? How long has it been since the last time you went back home and visit your parent?
  • 我爷爷 去 了 台湾 以后 已经 三十年 没 回家 Wǒ yéye qù le tàiwān yǐhòu, yǐjīng sānshí nián méi huíjiā le.It's been 30 years since my grandpa left home for Taiwan.
  • 她 妈妈 去世 以后,她 都 两个 多 月 没 出门 Tā māma qùshì yǐhòu, tā dōu lǎing gè duō yuè méi chūmén le.She hasn't been out for more than two months since her mother passed away .

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 好几 个 小时 吃 东西 Wǒ yǐjīng hǎo jǐ gè xiǎoshí méi chī dōngxi le.I haven't eaten anything in several hours.
  • 上次 来 中国 2000年。shàngcì lái zhōngguó shì liǎngqiān nián.The last time I came to China was the year 2000. (Same meaning as "I haven't been to China since the year 2000.")

See also

Sources and Further Reading

Books