---
title: "verb (+ 了) + duration (for how long) in Chinese Grammar: For … (how long … lasts), With Examples"
description: "verb (+ 了) + duration (for how long): for … (how long … lasts). A length of time after the verb says how long the action lasts: 学习两个小时 “study for two hours”. 4 real lines from stories, each word explained."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/duration"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[Chinese grammar](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar)

# verb (+ 了) + duration (for how long)

For … (how long … lasts)

A length of time after the verb says how long the action lasts: 学习两个小时 “study for two hours”.

## In stories

八月一日，在军队工作的人可以**休息半天**。

[“八一”是什么日子？ · What is August 1 in China? Army Day explained](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/china-army-day-august-1#library-word-67-71) HSK 1

在中国**坐了四个小时**飞机，你还在中国！

[中国有多大？ · How big is China?](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/how-big-is-china#library-word-112-118) HSK 1

你们**说了十分钟**。

[怎么点菜？ · How to order food in a Chinese restaurant](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/how-to-order-food-in-a-chinese-restaurant#library-word-272-277) HSK 1

现在我会说了：我十一月去北京，在北京**住一个月**。

[一月还是一个月？ · How to say months and years in Chinese](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/how-to-say-months-and-years-in-chinese#library-word-275-279) HSK 1

[Read “八一”是什么日子？](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/china-army-day-august-1#library-word-67-71)

## More patterns

- [verb + 了 + verb … briefly; … a little](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-le-v)
- [太 + adjective + 了 so …!](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/tai-le)
- [verb + 不了/得了 cannot …; can …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-bu-liao)
- [快(要)…了 about to …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/kuai-le)
- [为了…(而)… in order to …, …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/weile-er)
- [别 + verb + 了 (stop …) stop …; don’t … any more](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/bie-le)

## What does verb (+ 了) + duration (for how long) mean in Chinese?

For … (how long … lasts). A length of time after the verb says how long the action lasts: 学习两个小时 “study for two hours”.

## How common is verb (+ 了) + duration (for how long)?

It comes up in 148 readings of the 392 stories and articles in our free Library.

## Does it correct my mistakes?

No. It shows which patterns a text uses and what each one does; it doesn’t mark errors. Paste a sentence you wrote to see whether it uses the pattern you meant.

## More free tools

- [Chinese dictionary](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dictionary)
- [Measure words](https://mandarinthewild.com/measure-words)
- [How hard is this text?](https://mandarinthewild.com/text-level)
- [Free Chinese stories](https://mandarinthewild.com/library)

Patterns found by our own parser; lines from our free Library.