Breakdown of wǒ zài zhè gè chéngshì zhù le liù gè yuè le.
Used when counting nouns or when specifying a specific instance of a noun.
There are also classifiers for people, for bound items such as books and magazines, for cups/glasses, etc.
The classifier 个 is a general one that can be used for any of these.
Used after a verb. Marks that an action is completed.
Used at the end of a sentence. Marks a change of state or new situation.
Questions & Answers about wǒ zài zhè gè chéngshì zhù le liù gè yuè le.
Chinese teachers often call them verb 了 and sentence-final 了:
The first 了 (right after 住) is verb 了.
- Pattern: 住了六个月
- It marks the completion/realization of a duration: “lived for six months (this stretch of time has been reached).”
The second 了 at the end of the sentence is sentence-final 了.
- Pattern: …六个月了。
- It marks a change of situation / new state: “Now, as of this moment, it has (already) been six months.”
Together, 住了六个月了 means:
- “I have (already) lived in this city for six months (up to now, and I’m still here).”
In normal contexts, 我在这个城市住了六个月了 strongly suggests:
- You started living here six months ago,
- And you are still living here now.
That sense of “up to now and still true” comes mainly from:
- The duration (六个月)
- Plus the sentence-final 了.
If you wanted to clearly say you used to live in this city for six months but don’t anymore, you’d usually say something like:
- 我以前在这个城市住了六个月。
(“I used to live in this city for six months.”)
Very roughly:
我在这个城市住了六个月了
- Feels like “I have been living in this city for six months (already)”
- Implies it’s still true now, and the speaker is aware of the time that has passed.
我在这个城市住了六个月 (no final 了)
- Neutral description: “I lived / have lived in this city for six months.”
- Often sounds more like a completed past period, and by itself does not clearly say whether you still live there.
Context can blur this difference, but in beginner–intermediate learning, a common rule of thumb is:
- Duration + verb 了 + sentence-final 了 = still true now.
You have two common patterns:
在 + place + verb
- 我在这个城市住了六个月了。
Literally: “I at this city lived six months already.”
- 我在这个城市住了六个月了。
verb + 在 + place
- 我住在这个城市已经六个月了。
- 我已经住在这个城市六个月了。
Your version 我住在这个城市六个月了 is grammatical, but:
- It’s more natural if you also add 已经 or 了 after the verb:
- 我已经住在这个城市六个月了。
So:
- 在 + 地方 + 住… and 住在 + 地方… are both correct structures, just slightly different word orders:
- 我在上海住。
- 我住在上海。
在 (zài) here is a location marker. The pattern is:
- [Subject] + 在 + [place] + [verb]
So in 我在这个城市住了六个月了:
- 在这个城市 = “in this city” (location)
- 住 = “live”
It’s similar to English “live in this city”, but in Chinese:
- The preposition-like word 在 comes before the place phrase:
- 在这个城市 = “in this city”
- Not “这个城市在”.
You can either:
- Put 在 + place before the verb: 我在这个城市住…
- Or fold 在 into the verb as 住在: 我住在这个城市…
There are two 个 here, doing two different jobs:
这 + 个 + 城市
- 个 is the measure word (classifier) for 城市 (city).
- Many nouns need a measure word when counted or specified:
- 一个人 (one person)
- 三个苹果 (three apples)
- 这个城市 (this city)
六 + 个 + 月
- Here 个 is the measure word for a period of a month.
- 六个月 = “six months (of time).”
Why not 六月?
- 六月 (no 个) usually means “June” (the sixth month of the year), not “six months.”
- When you mean a span of time, you say:
- 一个月 (one month)
- 两个月 (two months)
- 六个月 (six months)
Standard word order for location is:
- [Subject] + 在 + [place] + [verb] + …
So:
- 我在这个城市住了六个月了。
You can also:
- Use 住在 and move the place:
- 我住在这个城市已经六个月了。
- Add time words like 已经 in different places:
- 我已经在这个城市住了六个月了。
- 我在这个城市已经住了六个月了。
But you cannot normally separate 在 from its place or put it far from the verb in strange ways. Patterns like:
- ✗ 我住了在这个城市六个月了 (wrong)
- ✗ 我在住这个城市六个月了 (wrong)
are ungrammatical.
To emphasize past, no longer true:
- 我以前在这个城市住了六个月。
“I used to live in this city for six months.” - 我在这个城市住了六个月，后来搬走了。
“I lived in this city for six months, then moved away.”
To emphasize up to now and still true:
- 我在这个城市住了六个月了。
- 我已经在这个城市住了六个月了。
These are close to English:
- “I have lived / have been living in this city for six months (now).”
For the future, you usually don’t use this double-了 pattern. Instead, use a future marker or intent verb:
- 我要在这个城市住六个月。
“I’m going to live in this city for six months.” - 我会在这个城市住六个月。
“I will live in this city for six months.” - 打算在这个城市住六个月。
“(I) plan to live in this city for six months.”
Key points:
- No 了 is needed for a simple future duration statement.
- 要 / 会 / 打算 show future intent or prediction.
Replacing the final 了 with 呢:
- 我在这个城市住了六个月呢 is not a standard way to express duration up to now.
- 呢 is more for ongoing actions / states or soft questions, not for this particular “up to now” duration pattern.
Leaving out the final 了:
- 我在这个城市住了六个月 is grammatically fine.
- But it’s less clear that you are still living here; it often sounds like a completed past period.
So:
- For “I’ve already been here six months (and I’m still here)”, keep the final 了:
- …住了六个月了。
By itself, …住了六个月了 is neutral, but:
- The final 了 + duration tends to highlight that the time is not short / feels significant.
- Depending on tone of voice and context, it can carry different shades:
- Mild surprise:
- “Wow, it’s already been six months.”
- Mild complaint or impatience:
- “I’ve been stuck here six months already…”
- Simple statement of fact:
- “I’ve been here six months now.”
- Mild surprise:
So grammatically it’s neutral; the emotion comes from context and intonation.
Some common casual variants:
- 我在这儿住了六个月了。
(“this city” → “here”) - 我在这儿住六个月了。
(often the first 了 is dropped in fast speech) - 我在这边住了半年了。
(半年 = “half a year”) - 我在这儿都住了六个月了。
Adding 都 gives emphasis: “I’ve already been here six whole months.”
All of these still keep the core pattern:
- 在 + place + 住 + (了) + duration + 了 to express “(have been) living here for X time (up to now).”