Expressing "before" in general with "yiqian"

Using "before" in Chinese is very simple. To talk about things in the past "in general", you can use the word 以前 (yǐqián). You can use this structure to talk about actions that happened at some unspecified time in the past.

以前 before the Subject

Structure

One way to use 以前 (yǐqián) is to start the sentence with it. This is like starting off a sentence in English with "before..." or "in the past...."

以前，+ Subject + Verb + Object

Examples

• 以前 我 不 会 说 中文 。 Yǐqián wǒ bù huì shuō Zhōngwén. Before, I could not speak Chinese.
• 以前 我 住 在 上海 。 Yǐqián wǒ zhù zài Shànghǎi. Before, I lived in Shanghai.
• 以前 我 是 一 个 老师 。 Yǐqián wǒ shì yī gè lǎoshī. Before, I was a teacher.
• 以前 我 不 喜欢 他 。 Yǐqián wǒ bù xǐhuan tā. Before, I didn't like him.
• 以前 我 不 喜欢 电影 。 Yǐqián wǒ bù xǐhuan diànyǐng. Before, I didn't like movies.
• 以前 我 没有 钱 。 Yǐqián wǒ méiyǒu qián. Before, I didn't have any money.
• 以前 我 很 快乐 。 Yǐqián wǒ hěn kuàilè. Before, I was very happy.
• 以前 我们 经常 聊天 。 Yǐqián wǒmen jīngcháng liáotiān. Before, we often talked together.
• 以前 她 很 喜欢 笑 。 Yǐqián tā hěn xǐhuan xiào. Before, she really liked laughing.
• 以前 我 很 爱 学习 。 Yǐqián wǒ hěn ài xuéxí. Before, I really loved studying.

以前 after the Subject

For pretty much the exact same sentences as in the previous section, you can also move 以前 (yǐqián) to right after the subject, and it's also correct.

Structure

Subject + 以前 + Verb + Object

Examples

• 我 以前 不 会 说 中文。Before, I could not speak Chinese.
• 我 以前 住 在 上海。Before, I lived in Shanghai.
• 我 以前 是 一 个 老师。Before, I was a teacher.
• 我 以前不 喜欢 他。Before, I didn't like him.
• 我 以前 不 喜欢 电影。Before, I didn't like movies.
• 我 以前 没有 钱。Before, I didn't have any money.
• 我 以前 很 快乐。Before, I was very happy.
• 我们 以前 经常 聊天。Before, we often talked together.
• 她 以前 很 喜欢 笑。Before, she really liked laughing.
• 我 以前 很 爱 学习。Before, I really loved studying.

See also

• In the future in general
• Before a specific time
• At the time when
• Before and after with "zhiqian" and "zhihou"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Boya Chinese Elementary Starter 2 (博雅汉语初经起步篇) (p. 11) →buy
• Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (p. 268) →buy

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