Difference between revisions of "Expressing duration of inaction"

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==See also==
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== See also ==
 
*[[Expressing duration]]
 
*[[Expressing duration]]
 
*[[Expressing ongoing duration with double "le"]]
 
*[[Expressing ongoing duration with double "le"]]
 
*[[Uses of le]]
 
*[[Uses of le]]
  
==Sources and Further Reading==
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== Sources and Further Reading ==
  
===Books===
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=== Books ===
  
 
* [[Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed)]] (pp. 231-2) [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]
 
* [[Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed)]] (pp. 231-2) [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]
  
 
[[Category:B1 grammar points]]
 
[[Category:B1 grammar points]]
{{Basic Grammar|没|B1|Duration + 没 + Verb Phrase (+ 了)|他 已经 一 个 星期 <em> 没</em> 洗澡 了。|grammar point|ASGSVF28}}
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{{Basic Grammar|没|B1|Duration + 没 + Verb Phrase (+ 了)|他 已经 一 个 星期 <em> 没</em> 洗澡 了 。|grammar point|ASGSVF28}}
 
{{Rel char|了}}
 
{{Rel char|了}}
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{{POS|Verb phrases}}
 
{{Similar|Uses of le}}
 
{{Similar|Uses of le}}
 
{{Similar|Expressing duration with "le"}}
 
{{Similar|Expressing duration with "le"}}
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{{Used for|Expressing duration}}
 
{{Used for|Expressing duration}}
 
{{Used for|Referring to the past}}
 
{{Used for|Referring to the past}}
{{POS|Verbs}}
 
{{Subprop|Verb phrases}}
 

Revision as of 02:59, 26 October 2017

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.

Subj. + Duration + 没 + Verb + Obj. + 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

  • 我们 十 年 Wǒmen shí nián méi jiàn le.It's been ten years since we met last time.
  • 他 已经 一个 星期 洗澡 Tā yǐjīng yī gè xīngqī méi xǐzǎo le.He has already gone a whole week without showering.
  • 他们 两 天 吃 东西 Tāmen liǎng tiān méi chī dōngxi le.They have gone two days without eating anything.
  • 她 半 个 月 出门 bàn gè yuè méi chūmén le.It's been half a month since she last went out of the house.
  • 你 多久 休假 Nǐ duōjiǔ méi xiūjià le?How long has it been since your last vocation?
  • 你 多长时间 刮胡子 Nǐ duō cháng shíjiān méi guā húzi le?How long has it been since you last shaved?
  • 买 吧 ,你 已经 一 年 多 买 新 衣服 Mǎi ba, nǐ yǐjīng yī nián duō méi mǎi xīn yīfu le.Let's buy it for you. It's been more than one year since you last bought new clothes.
  • 你 好像 很久 这么 开心 Nǐ hǎoxiàng hěnjiǔ méi zhème kāixīn le.It seems it's been a long time since you were so happy last time.

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 来 中国 Wǒ yǐjīng èrshí nián méi lái Zhōngguó le.It's been 20 years since I came to China last time.
  • 上次 来 中国 二十 年 前 。shàngcì lái Zhōngguó shì èrshí nián qián.The last time I came to China was over ten years ago. (Same meaning as "I haven't been to China since 20 years ago.")

See also

Sources and Further Reading

Books