<p>"看书“ is detachable word， that means we need to put temporal words(such as 很长时间）into the middle of "看书”。Detachable word can be collocated with many kinds of word or phrase and the collocation with quantitative phrase is one of the most common occurrences。
So the correct answer is "我看了很长时间书" or "我看书看了很长时间”。</p>

<p>If you still don't understand this grammar point, I recommond you to buy one or two good Chinese grammar book, this articel tells you the best Chinese grammar book.<a href="http://www.hanbridgemandarin.com/article/chinese-learning-tips/best-chinese-grammar-book/" rel="nofollow">http://www.hanbridgemandarin.com/article/chinese-learning-tips/best-chinese-grammar-book/</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-05T07:53:28.857Z
2016-07-05T07:53:28.857Z
greglow
<p>can we say ”我很长时间看书“？meaning I have read a book for a long time. is it possible to put duration in the beginning?</p>

<pinyin>
which one is correct and why "我看书看很长时间” or "我很长时间看书”
# which one is correct and why "我看书看很长时间” or "我很长时间看书”

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-07-05)

can we say ”我很长时间看书“？meaning I have read a book for a long time. is it possible to put duration in the beginning?

**Tags:** pinyin

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-07-05. Score: 1

"看书“ is detachable word， that means we need to put temporal words(such as 很长时间）into the middle of "看书”。Detachable word can be collocated with many kinds of word or phrase and the collocation with quantitative phrase is one of the most common occurrences。
So the correct answer is "我看了很长时间书" or "我看书看了很长时间”。

If you still don't understand this grammar point, I recommond you to buy one or two good Chinese grammar book, this articel tells you the best Chinese grammar book.<http://www.hanbridgemandarin.com/article/chinese-learning-tips/best-chinese-grammar-book/>


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