# How long goes after the verb in Vietnamese (A1)

> A length of time goes after the verb, with no word for "for": Tôi ở Đà Lạt ba ngày. I stayed in Đà Lạt for three days.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/duration-after-verb/ · Updated 2026-11-09

**duration after the verb**

Pattern: `[person] + [verb] + [duration] (no preposition)`

Level: A1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

A length of time goes after the verb, with no word for "for": *Tôi ở Đà Lạt ba ngày.* I stayed in Đà Lạt for three days. If the verb has an object, the length of time comes after that: *học tiếng Việt hai năm*, study Vietnamese for two years. You can put *trong* in front, *ở Đà Lạt trong ba ngày*, which sounds a little more careful; everyday speech leaves it out.

A point in time is freer. *Hôm qua* (yesterday), *tuần trước* (last week) or *lúc bảy giờ* (at seven) say when. They often go first, before the person, but can also come at the end: *Tôi dậy lúc bảy giờ.* I get up at seven. A length of time says how long, and it goes after the verb. One sentence can have both: *Tuần trước tôi ở Đà Lạt ba ngày.*

To ask how long, put *bao lâu* (how long) where the answer goes: *Anh ở Sài Gòn bao lâu?* How long are you staying in Saigon? For hours, people usually say *tiếng*: *Em ngủ mấy tiếng?* How many hours do you sleep? *Giờ* on its own usually means the clock time (*mấy giờ*, what time); for a length of time you'll mostly see it in writing or as *giờ đồng hồ*.

For something that started in the past and is still going on, add *rồi* at the end, often with *được* before the length of time: *Tôi ở đây (được) ba tháng rồi.* I've been here for three months.

## A common mistake

✗ Tôi ở Đà Lạt cho ba ngày.

✓ Tôi ở Đà Lạt ba ngày.

*Cho* is "for" a person, as in a gift for you. A length of time needs no word in front: put it straight after the verb.

## Examples

- Tuần trước tôi ở Đà Lạt ba ngày. — Last week I stayed in Đà Lạt for three days.
- Saigon: Anh chờ em năm phút nha. | Hà Nội: Anh chờ em năm phút nhé. — Wait for me for five minutes, okay?
- Mỗi đêm em ngủ mấy tiếng? — How many hours do you sleep a night?
- Dạ, em ngủ bảy tiếng. — I sleep seven hours.

## Compare

- [Time words go first: Hôm nay tôi đi làm](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/time-before-verb/): time at the start
- [How long? bao lâu after the verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/bao-lau-how-long/): how long (duration)?

Previous in Time and when things happen: [Hours of duration: tiếng (giờ is o'clock)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/tieng-hours/)
Next in Time and when things happen: [How often: thường, luôn, thỉnh thoảng before the verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/frequency-position/)

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