Difference between revisions of "Expressing duration with "le""

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* 他 <strong>以前</strong> 在 北京 住 <em>两 年</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">Tā <strong>yǐqián</strong> zài Běijīng zhù <em>le liǎng nián</em>.</span> <span class="trans">Before, I lived in Beijing for two years.</span>
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* 你 刚才 上 了 <em>半 个 小时</em> 厕所。 <span class="pinyin">Nǐ gāngcái shàng le <em>bàn ge xiǎoshí</em> cèsuǒ.</span> <span class="trans">You just went to the bathroom for half an hour.</span>
* 我 <strong>昨天</strong> 上 <em>半 个 小时</em> 网 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <strong>zuótiān</strong> shàng <em>le bàn xiǎoshí</em> wǎng.</span> <span class="trans">Yesterday I went online for half an hour.</span>
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* 周末 和 老公 开 了 <em>个 小时</em> 车 回 老家。 <span class="pinyin">Shàng ge zhōumò wǒ hé lǎogōng kāi le <em>sān ge xiǎoshí</em> chē huí lǎojiā.</span> <span class="trans">My husband and I drove back home for three hours last weekend.</span>
* 我 <strong>上个 星期</strong> 做 <em>了 三 小时</em> 作业 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <strong>shàngge xīngqī</strong> zuò <em>le sān gè xiǎoshí</em> zuòyè.</span> <span class="trans">Last week I did three hours of homework.</span>
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* 星期 了 <em> 三天 </em> 班。 <span class="pinyin">Nǐ gāngcái shàng le <em>bàn ge xiǎoshí</em> cèsuǒ.</span> <span class="trans">You just went to the bathroom for half an hour.</span>
* <strong>以前</strong> 在 Google 做 了 <em>八 年</em> 经理 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <strong>yǐqián</strong> zài Google zuò le <em>bā nián</em> jīnglǐ.</span> <span class="trans">Before, I worked as a manager at Google for eight years.</span>
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* 他 今天 上 了<em>一天</em> 网。 <span class="pinyin">Tā jīntiān shàng le <em>yītiān</em> wǎng.</span> <span class="trans">He went online all day today.</span>
* 我 <strong>昨天 晚上</strong> 看 了 <em>两 个 小时</em> 电影 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <strong>zuótiān wǎnshang</strong> kàn le <em>liǎng gè xiǎoshí</em> diànyǐng.</span> <span class="trans">Last night, I watched movies for two hours.</span>
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* 昨天 爸爸 跟 妈妈 吵 了 <em> 一 晚上 </em> 架。 <span class="pinyin">Zuótiān bàba gēn māma chǎo le <em>yī wǎnshang</em> jià.</span> <span class="trans">Dad was quarreling with mom all evening yesterday .</span>
* 我 <strong>今天</strong> 开 了 <em>一 天</em> 会 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <strong>jīntiān</strong> kāi le <em>yī tiān</em> huì.</span> <span class="trans">Today, I attended a full day of meetings.</span>
 
* 我 <strong>今天 早上</strong> 坐 了 <em>一 小时</em> 地铁 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <strong>jīntiān zǎoshang</strong> zuò le <em>yī gè xiǎoshí</em> dìtiě.</span> <span class="trans">This morning I rode the metro for an hour.</span>
 
* <strong>刚刚</strong> 打 了 <em>半 个 小时</em> 电话 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <strong>gānggāng</strong> dǎ le <em>bàn xiǎoshí</em> diànhuà.</span> <span class="trans">I just talked on the phone for half an hour.</span>
 
* 我 <strong>去年</strong> 在 大学 学 了 <em>一 年</em> 中文 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <strong>qùnián</strong> zài dàxué xué le <em>yī nián</em> Zhōngwén.</span> <span class="trans">Last year at college, I studied a year of Chinese.</span>
 
* 我 和 朋友 <strong>上 个 星期五 晚上</strong> 喝 了 <em>两 个 小时</em> 酒 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ hé péngyou <strong>shàng gè xīngqīwǔ wǎnshang</strong> hē le <em>liǎng gè xiǎoshí</em> jiǔ.</span> <span class="trans">Last Friday night, a friend and I drank alcohol for two hours.</span>
 
 
 
 
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Revision as of 07:19, 14 October 2015

After reading this primer on one of the many uses of 了 (le), you will have gotten a good grasp on how to express the duration of something.

Basic expression

Structure

Saying how long you did something for in Chinese can seem tricky, as there is no preposition as in English. Instead it's all about word order:

Subject + Verb + 了 + Duration + Object

So 了 (le) is placed after the verb (to indicate that the action is completed), followed by the duration. This is how you talk about the duration of completed actions.

Examples

  • 他 在 大学 学 了 一 年 中文。 Tā zài dàxué xué le yī nián Zhōngwén. In the university he studied Chinese for one year.
  • 昨天 我 上 了 八 个 小时 课。 Zuótiān wǒ shàng le bā ge xiǎoshí kè. I gave classes for eight hours yesterday.
  • 他 在 Google 做 了 八 年 经理。 Tā zài Google zuò le bā nián jīnglǐ. He worked as a manager at Google for eight years.
  • 老板 跟 客户 开 了 一 天 会 。 Lǎobǎn gēn kèhù kāi le yī tiān huì. The boss attended a full day of meetings with clients.
  • 我们 坐 了 十 几 个 小时 飞机 去 美国。 Wǒmen zuò le shíjǐge xiǎoshí fēijī qù měiguó. We rode the metro for one hour to the airport.


To express completed definitely

Structure

Note that the pattern above can be used to express the duration of completed actions which are no longer in progress, although strictly speaking, it's not entirely clear if the actions are still ongoing or not. To indicate that the actions are definitely completed, a time word may be inserted into the sentence to indicate that you're talking about an event in the past:

Subject + Time Word + Verb + 了 + Duration + Object

Examples

  • 你 刚才 上 了 半 个 小时 厕所。 Nǐ gāngcái shàng le bàn ge xiǎoshí cèsuǒ. You just went to the bathroom for half an hour.
  • 上 个 周末 我 和 老公 开 了 三 个 小时 车 回 老家。 Shàng ge zhōumò wǒ hé lǎogōng kāi le sān ge xiǎoshí chē huí lǎojiā. My husband and I drove back home for three hours last weekend.
  • 这 个 星期 我 加 了 三天 班。 Nǐ gāngcái shàng le bàn ge xiǎoshí cèsuǒ. You just went to the bathroom for half an hour.
  • 他 今天 上 了一天 网。 Tā jīntiān shàng le yītiān wǎng. He went online all day today.
  • 昨天 爸爸 跟 妈妈 吵 了 一 晚上 架。 Zuótiān bàba gēn māma chǎo le yī wǎnshang jià. Dad was quarreling with mom all evening yesterday .

To indicate that the action is definitely still in progress, use a slightly different pattern.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books