Learn Hardcore Chinese: máng le yí gè xiǎoshí yǐhòu, wǒ yǒudiǎnr è, xiǎng qù chī diǎnr dōngxi. - After being busy for an hour, I felt a bit hungry and wanted to eat something.

忙了一个小时 literally: “(I) was busy for one hour.”
The 了 marks that this hour of being busy is a completed duration.
Then 以后 (“after”) connects that completed action to what happens next.

If you put 了 at the very end (…想去吃点儿东西了) it would mark a change of state (“now I want to go eat something (but I didn’t before)”), which is a different meaning.

So here, 了 belongs with 忙, not with the whole sentence.

What exactly does 忙了一个小时 mean? Is it past tense, or “for an hour”, or something else?

忙了一个小时 is best understood as “was busy for an hour”.

忙 = to be busy
了 = completion/aspect
一个小时 = a duration (one hour)

Putting 了 between the verb and the duration (V + 了 + duration) normally means:

The action happened and lasted for that period of time.

So it doesn’t directly mark “past tense” in the English sense, but it implies a completed past event: “I was busy for an hour.”

Why do we need 个 in 一个小时? Could we just say 一小时?

个 is a measure word here, and 一个小时 is the most natural, everyday way to say “one hour” in spoken Mandarin.

一小时 is also correct, but feels a bit more formal, like written style or news reports.
In daily conversation, people almost always say 一个小时, 两个小时, 三个小时, etc.

So both are grammatically fine, but 一个小时 is more colloquial and matches the tone of the rest of the sentence.

Why is 一 pronounced yí in 一个小时 instead of yī?

This is due to tone sandhi (tone change rules).

The basic tone of 一 is first tone (yī).
But when 一 is followed by a fourth-tone syllable (like 个 gè), it changes to second tone (yí).

So:

一 + 个 (4th tone) → yí gè (一个)
一 + 本 (3rd tone) → yì běn (changes to 4th tone before 3rd tone)

In 一个小时, 个 is 4th tone, so we say yí gè.

What’s the difference between 以后 and words like 之后 or 然后? Why use 以后 here?

以后 (yǐhòu) means “after (that time)” and is used to mark what happens after a certain point.

忙了一个小时以后 = “after being busy for an hour”

Comparisons:

以后: “after / later than” some time point (neutral, very common).
之后 (zhīhòu): very similar to 以后, slightly more formal or written in many contexts; can often be swapped with 以后 here.
然后 (ránhòu): means “and then / after that” and is more like a connector in a sequence of events, not used in this structure with a time expression in front.

You can say:

忙了一个小时以后，我… (very natural)
忙了一个小时之后，我… (also okay, a bit more formal/written)
But not 忙了一个小时然后，我… — that sounds off in Chinese.

Why is it 有点儿饿 and not just 有点饿 or 有点儿很饿?

Several points here:

有点儿饿 vs 有点饿:
- Both are used; 儿 (er) is a kind of “-r” suffix common in Northern / Beijing speech.
- In most of mainland China, people often say 有点儿 in casual speech.
- In many textbooks, you’ll see both 有点儿 and 有点; they are effectively the same word in meaning.
Why not 有点儿很饿?
- You generally don’t combine 有点(儿) with 很 before the same adjective.
- 有点儿 already acts like “a bit / somewhat” for adjectives with a mild negative or uncomfortable feeling.
- So 有点儿饿 = “a bit hungry”, not “a bit very hungry”.

Structure:

有点儿 + adjective → a bit [uncomfortable / not ideal]
e.g. 有点儿冷, 有点儿累, 有点儿贵.

What’s the difference between 有点儿 and 一点儿? Could I say 我一点儿饿?

有点儿 and 一点儿 are used differently:

有点儿 (yǒudiǎnr):
- Usually used before adjectives or unwanted situations.
- Has a slightly negative / complaining or “not ideal” tone.
- E.g. 有点儿饿, 有点儿累, 有点儿贵.
一点儿 (yìdiǎnr):
- Used with nouns or verbs to mean “a little / a bit (of something)”.
- E.g. 喝一点儿水 (drink a bit of water), 给我一点儿时间 (give me a little time).

You cannot say 我一点儿饿. For adjectives, you need:

我有点儿饿 (I’m a bit hungry)
or
我有一点儿饿 (same meaning, slightly more formal/explicit than 有点儿饿).

So here, 有点儿饿 is the correct structure.

Why is it 点儿东西 after 吃, and not just 吃东西?

Both are correct, but the nuance is slightly different:

吃东西: just “eat something / eat things” — neutral, no sense of “a small amount”.
吃点儿东西: “eat a bit of something / have a little something to eat”.

Here, 点儿 means “a bit / a little (amount)”.
So 吃点儿东西 sounds like:

“have a little something to eat,”
“grab a bite,”
not necessarily a big/full meal.

It fits well with 有点儿饿 (a bit hungry) — the small amount of hunger and small amount of food match each other nicely.

What exactly does 东西 mean here? Literally it’s “things”, so why does it mean “something to eat”?

Literally, 东西 (dōngxi) means “things / stuff”.

After 吃 (to eat), 吃东西 or 吃点儿东西 is a very common idiomatic way to say:

“eat something,”
“have something to eat,”
“eat some food.”

In this context, everyone understands 东西 as “food items”.

So the phrase 吃点儿东西 is a natural, everyday way to say “have a little something to eat” without specifying what food.

Why is there no explicit subject before 忙了一个小时以后? Shouldn’t it say 我忙了一个小时以后?

Chinese often drops the subject when it’s clear from context.

Here, the second clause starts with 我有点儿饿, so it’s obvious that “I” is the one who was busy. Native speakers naturally understand that 我 is the subject of the first clause too.

(我) 忙了一个小时以后，我有点儿饿…

If you add 我 before 忙了, it’s not wrong:

我忙了一个小时以后，我有点儿饿…

But in fluent, natural Chinese, leaving it out (when obvious) is very common and sounds smoother.

What is the role of 想 in 我有点儿饿，想去吃点儿东西? Does it mean “think”, “want”, or something else?

In this sentence, 想 (xiǎng) means “want to / feel like doing”.

我想去吃点儿东西 ≈ “I want to go eat something” / “I feel like going to eat something.”

想 can mean:

“to think” – 我想你说得对 (I think you’re right).
“to miss (someone)” – 我想你 (I miss you).
“to want to / would like to” – 我想喝茶 (I want to drink tea).

Here it’s the third meaning: a desire/intention to do something, but usually softer than 要, which can sound more definite or urgent.

Why do we say 想去吃点儿东西 and not just 想吃点儿东西? What does 去 add?

Both are possible, but they focus slightly differently:

想吃点儿东西: “want to eat something” (focus on the action of eating).
想去吃点儿东西: “want to go (somewhere) to eat something” (suggests going somewhere to eat — café, restaurant, kitchen, etc.).

The 去 adds a sense of movement / going to a place.
In real conversation:

If you’re at home and planning to go out to eat, 想去吃点儿东西 is very natural.
If you’re already at a table with food, you might just say 想吃点儿东西.

In many contexts, they can be used interchangeably, but 去 more strongly implies “go (somewhere) and then eat”.

Could we say 我有点儿饿了 instead of 我有点儿饿? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say 我有点儿饿了, and it’s quite natural. The nuance:

我有点儿饿: “I’m a bit hungry.” (a simple description of your current state)
我有点儿饿了: “I’ve gotten a bit hungry now.” (emphasizes a change — you weren’t hungry before, but now you are)

The 了 at the end in 饿了 marks a change of state: you’ve entered into a new condition (now hungry).

In this particular sentence, both versions work:

忙了一个小时以后，我有点儿饿，想去吃点儿东西。
忙了一个小时以后，我有点儿饿了，想去吃点儿东西。

The second just highlights that the hunger appeared after being busy for an hour.