Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/Time

Express time and duration in Chinese

Hello everybody!

In today's lesson, we will teach you how to express time and duration in Chinese.

Feel free to edit this wiki page, if you think it can be improved.

The modal particle 了 (le)

了 (le) is a modal particle indicating that the situation is new.

It is placed at the end of the sentence.

Look at the two examples below:

1. 他学汉语。 Tā xué hànyǔ.

He studies Chinese.

(There is no particular indication of time, whether it has been a long time since it started or not, it is a very simple sentence).

1. 他学汉语了。 Tā xué hànyǔ le.

He has just started to study Chinese.

(The 了 (le) indicates that it is new, that he did not study Chinese before and that he put himself in it).

In the example above, we can easily make sense in English, but this is not always the case:

• 你多大? nǐ duō dà?

How old are you?

• 你多大了? nǐ duō dà le?

How old are you?

(in the sense of "Now, how old are you?")

• 现在几点? Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?

What time is it right now?

• 现在几点了? Xiànzài jǐ diǎn le?

What time is it right now?

(reinforces the idea of ​​"now", but in the sense of change).

The use of 了 is not always obvious for a beginner.

On the other hand, it comes naturally enough with practice. It is therefore important to learn standard phrases by heart.

Here are some more examples:

• 他去中国。 tā qù zhōng guó

He's going to China.

(maybe he's getting ready or he's already at the airport)

• 他去中国了。 tā qù zhōng guó le

He went to China.

(That's it, it's done, he's gone.)

• 我看见他。 Wǒ kānjiān tā.

I see him.

• 我看见他了! Wǒ kānjiān tā le!

I see him (now)!

For a negation in a past context, do not add the 了:

• 他没去中国。 méi qù zhōng guó

He did not go to China.

• 我没看见他。 méi kàn jiàn tā.

I did not see him.

On the other hand, the expression 不 ..... 了。 Bù ...... le means "no longer":

• 他不学汉语了。 tā bù xué hàn yǔ le.

He does not study Chinese anymore.

The time

In Chinese, the punctual time (and not the duration) is built with 点 diǎn:

• 一点 yī diǎn

one o'clock.

• 两点 liǎng diǎn

two o'clock.

• 三点 sān diǎn

three o'clock.

• 十一点 shí yī diǎn

eleven o'clock.

• 十二点 shí èr diǎn

twelve o'clock.

Two comments:

1. for the number "two", when it comes to the time, it is necessary to use 两 liǎng and not 二 èr and that only for the number 2, not for the numbers composed with 2 like 12, 22, etc.
2. When a syllable that begins with a vowel (like èr) is preceded by another syllable, it must be separated by an apostrophe: shí'èr 12, tiān'ānmén, etc.

If we want to specify that it is the exact time, we can add 钟 zhōng after 点 diǎn, but it is not mandatory:

• 七点钟。 qī diǎn zhōng.

7 o'clock

The minutes are built with 分 fēn:

• 八点五分。 bā diǎn wǔ fēn.

8:05

In Chinese, we can say 13:00 十三点 shí sān diǎn, 14:00 十四点 shí sì diǎn. But it is better to say 2 o'clock in the afternoon, 9 o'clock in the morning, etc.

The word "morning" 上午 shàngwǔ or "afternoon" 下午 xiàwǔ is placed before the time:

• 上午九点二十五分。 shàngwǔ jiǔ diǎn èr shí wǔ fēn

9:25 am

• 下午六点钟。 xiàwǔ liù diǎn zhōng

6 o'clock pm

The question for asking the time is 现在几点了? Xiànzài jǐ diǎn le?

We can remove the 了 to give less force in the sense of "now".

It is quite possible to answer using 现在 xiànzài:

• 现在三点了。 xiànzài sān diǎn le

It's three o'clock.

The punctual time

The circumstantial complement of place (the place where the action takes place) is placed before the verb of action:

• 她在中国学中文。 zài zhōngguó xué zhōngwén

She is studying Chinese in China.

It is a general rule in Mandarin Chinese that the circumstantial complements are placed before the action verb (we must first set the scene before talking about the action).

The punctual time can take the function of circumstantial complement and thus follows this rule:

• 我今天打电话. wǒ jīntiān dǎ diàn huà

I'm calling today.

• 我明天去看他. wǒ míngtiān qù kān tā

I'll go see him tomorrow.

Ms. Li learns Japanese on Wednesday afternoon at three o'clock.

The question is 什么时候 shénme shíhou: when?

Like almost all the interrogative words in Mandarin Chinese, he puts himself in the same place as the word answer:

• 你什么时候回家? shénme shíhou huí jiā

When do you come home?

• 我明天上午回家。 wǒ míngtiān shàngwǔ huí jiā

I'm going home tomorrow morning.

If the c.c. (circumstantial complement) of place and that of time are found in the same sentence, which is first?

Time is considered more general than space. It is therefore first:

• 我明天在家打电话。 wǒ míngtiān zài nǐ jiā dǎ diàn huà

I'll call tomorrow at home.

Note that in Chinese, there is no time. These are the words of time that locate the action in the present, past or future.

The duration

Unlike the punctual time, the duration is not a circumstantial complement (which is placed before the verb), but a verbal complement which is placed after the verb:

• 我学汉语两年。 xué hànyǔ liǎng nián

I learned two years of Chinese.

Notice the difference between:

• 我学汉语两年。 xué hànyǔ liǎng nián

I learned two years of Chinese.

and

• 我学汉语两年了。 wǒ xué hànyǔ liǎng nián le

I have been learning Chinese for two years.

The combination of 了 le the final and the duration allows to give the idea of ​​"since" since the 了 le places the situation in the present: there is a change of situation, before that was not two years, now if.

As the verbal complement is placed after the verb, the place of the complement can vary. The rigid grammar rule wants it to be in front of the action verb:

• 我学两年汉语了。 hàn yǔ xué liǎng nián le

I have been learning Chinese for two years.

But the use of the spoken language is more flexible and the duration can be put behind the complement :

• 我学汉语两年了。 wǒ xué hàn yǔ liǎng nián le

I have been learning Chinese for two years.

We must therefore remember these two sentences that are often used:

• 你学汉语几年了? nǐ xué hàn yǔ jǐ nián le

How many years have you been learning Chinese?

• 我学汉语三年了。 wǒ xué hàn yǔ sān nián le

I have been learning Chinese for three years.

Sources

http://www.chine-culture.com/chinois/cours-de-chinois-6-grammaire.php