live / lived

[vertox]

Whilst I can easily say where I live now in Chinese as 我住在。。。, what is the best way of expressing places where I have lived previously？

For example, if I lived in Spain in 2006 I realise people will understand if I say 2006年我住在西班牙, but do I need to use the 了 particle somewhere along the way to indicate that I am not living there anymore. Would 2006年我住了在西班牙 be correct or something else?

Finally how can I convey neatly the length of time I spent living in a certain place.... continuing the above example... if I lived in Spain for 2 years would it be correct to say 我住了在西班牙两年了。。or is that incorrect?

Just a neat little rule to follow would be appreciated.

Cheers.

[Don_Horhe]

"2006年我住在西班牙。" is perfectly fine. Just like "I lived in Spain in 2006", it doesn't specify exactly how long you lived there for.

Your second question has multiple answers, depending on what you want to say:

我在西班牙住了两年了。 I've been living (and continue to do so) in Spain for 2 years.

我在西班牙住了两年。 I lived in Spain for 2 years (but not anymore).

我在西班牙住过两年。 I have lived in Spain for 2 years (some time in the past, now you're someplace else).

[tooironic]

You could also say:

* 我曾经住在西班牙。 (I used to live in Spain.)

* 我以前住在西班牙。 (I lived in Spain previously.)