Grammar · Chapter 6
How long: the time comes after the verb
verb 了 + time (+ object)
How long something lasted comes after the verb, not before it: 我学了两年, “I studied for two years”. With an object, the time goes before it: 学了两年汉语.
Examples
- 我学了两年汉语。 Wǒ xué le liǎng nián Hànyǔ. I studied Chinese for two years.
- 他等了两个小时。 Tā děng le liǎng ge xiǎoshí. He waited for two hours.
- 我等了你很久。 Wǒ děng le nǐ hěn jiǔ. I waited for you a long time.