Maybe one for Nciku!!! "Double 了"

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Maybe one for Nciku!!! "Double 了"

熊 | Lv4 | Expired Date：2009.11.28 09:56
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Hi

I answered a question last month and explained the use of "double 了" in a sentence.

http://nboard.nciku.com/qna/question/10000000000000041464#

In my answer, I used the example sentence 我学了中文三年了. However, in the comments, someone pointed out that my sentence was incorrect and it should be:

我学了三年中文了 or
我学中文学了三年了

So I believe that whilst my actual explanation is correct, the example sentence I used may not be. Can anyone post back to clear this up please? Where should the object 中文 be placed? Thanks!

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Answer

于斯杰 | Lv6 | Answer Date：2009.11.09 03:50 (0) | (0)

Hey 熊, I'm the one that posted that comment, I think...

It's pretty simple, I think... especially if you relate it to English. In English we can say
"I studied Chinese for 3 years" or
"I studied 3 years of Chinese"

Chinese grammar is more similar to the second sentence in expressing the length of time that you do certain action. The difference is that the terms "3 years" and "Chinese" are reversed in function, but not in order... let me explain.

In my examples, I wrote:
我学了三年中文了

三年中文 means "3 years of Chinese". More specifically, "3 years" actually modifies the object "Chinese". In your sentence you use 中文三年, which is more similar to the sentence "I studied Chinese for 3 years". However, what you're really saying is "I studied Chinese of 3 years". "Chinese" acts as an adjective and modifies "3 years" which is strange.

Therefore these two sentences are written in the same order (i.e."3 years" and then "Chinese") but in the English version "3 years" is technically the object and "of Chinese" modifies it... English is funny like this, but oh well
"I studied 3 years of Chinese"
我学了三年中文了

Ok, so the second one was
我学中文学了三年了

This format is SUPER useful （especially if the object is really confusing). You can use the verb twice: after the first verb you place the object, and then you place the length of time (or any other modifiers) after the second verb.

For example, If you want to use a complex object like "the game that my friend gave me" you can say
我玩朋友给我的游戏玩得很长时间。
I played the game that my friend gave me for a very long time.
我玩朋友给我的游戏玩得很长时间。

Here are some more examples:
他踢足球踢得很好。　　　　He plays soccer very well.
昨天她跑马拉松跑得很快。 Yesterday she ran a marathon very quickly.
我学马克思主义和毛泽东思想学了四年了。　I studied Marxism and Mao Zedong thought for 4 years.

Comments(2)

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ptwxs | Lv13 | Answer Date：2009.11.10 03:22 (0) | (0)

In Putonghua, one should say 三年中文 but not 中文三年. You wouldn’t say 我吃了苹果三个了，would you? If you are going to sit for exams like HSK, you must stick with this.

But Putonghua is only a subset of Chinese. In 文言，the quantifier often comes after the noun. Also, not every Chinese speaks Putonghua and many dialects nowaday continue to put the quantifier after the noun. Examples like 马一匹、牛三头 can be easily found. Try googling for 牛三头 and see how many hits. So, the example you gave is not strictly wrong, just not standard Putonghua.

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nooblin | Lv9 | Answer Date：2009.11.08 11:52 (0) | (0)

Both 我学了三年中文了 and 我学中文学了三年了 are correct, although I can't clearly explain it.
In the first sentence, there is only one verb-学; in the second sentence, there are two verbs- two 学 are both verbs. I am sure your answer and another one are both correct.