Word order for the duration of time: how long - Cchatty

Word order for the duration of time: how long someone did something.

The word order for expressing the length or duration of time is very different from expressing the time when an action occurred.

Here, the length of time of action can come at the end of the sentence, whereas this can NEVER happen with expressing WHEN something occurred.

I slept for eight hours of sleep.
Wǒ shuìle bāge zhōngtou (xiǎoshí) de jiào.
我睡了八个钟头 (小时) 的觉。

OR, if you are stating the length of time you spent on various activities, in addition to sleeping: I slept (for) eight hours.

In terms of my sleeping, I slept eight hours.
Wǒ shuìjiào shuìle bāge zhōngtou (xiǎoshí).
我睡觉睡了八个钟头 (小时)。

Once you’ve established sleeping as your topic of conversation, then you can, of course, simply say, as we would in English:
I slept for eight hours.
Wǒ shuìle bāge zhōngtou (xiǎoshí).
我睡了八个钟头 (小时)。

Yesterday, I studied for five hours.
Yesterday, I studied five hours of books.
Zuótiān wǒ niànle wǔge zhōngtou (xiǎoshí) de shū.
昨天我念了五个钟头 (小时) 的书。

OR, if you’re enumerating the relative amount of time you spent doing various things yesterday: I studied for five hours yesterday.

Yesterday as for my studying, I studied (for) five hours.
Zuótiān wǒ niànshū niànle wǔge zhōngtou (xiǎoshí).
昨天我念书念了五个钟头 (小时)。

And once we've established "studying" as the topic of discussion, then we can simply say, as in English:
I studied (for) five hours.
Wǒ niànle wǔge zhōngtou (xiǎoshí).
我念了五个钟头 (小时)。

HOWEVER, when a length of time is given in a sentence with negation, bù 不 or méi/méiyǒu 没/没有, then the period of time comes BEFORE the verb:

English: I haven't slept for two days.
Chinese: I for two days have not slept.
✔ CC: Wǒ liǎngtiān méi shuìjiào le.
我两天没睡觉了。
✖ BC: Wǒ méi shuìjiào liǎngtiān.
我没睡觉两天。
Literally: I haven't slept for two days.

English: I haven't smoked for a year.
Chinese: I for one year have not smoked.
CC: Wǒ yìnián méi xīyān le.
我一年没吸烟了。