"Before" or "in the future" in general

Similar to talking about things in the past, talking about things in the future is very straight forward. You can use the simple but useful 以后 (yǐhòu), which also means "later."

Structure

To talk about things happening at some unspecified time in the future, you can use 以后 (yǐhòu). The structure is:

以前 / 以后， Subj. + Verb + Obj.

You can also move 以前 (yǐqián) or 以后 (yǐhòu) to right after the subject, and it's also correct.

Subj. + 以前 / 以后 + Verb + Obj.

This can be used to talk about actions in the future, or to talk about events that happened after other events in a story.

Examples

In the examples below, the translation "in the future" is used, because using "later" for 以后 (yǐhòu) either sounds weird, or makes it sound like it's going to happen really soon (just a little later), rather than at some indefinite point in the future, which is what is meant.

• 以前 我 不 认识 他。 Yǐqián wǒ bù rènshi tā. Before, I didn't know him.
• 以前 他 是 一 个 老师，现在 是 老板。 Yǐqián tā shì yī gè lǎoshī, xiànzài shì lǎobǎn. Before, he was a teacher. Now he is the boss.
• 以后 你们 会 想 我 吗？ Yǐhòu nǐmen huì xiǎng wǒ ma? In the future, will you miss me?
• 以后 你们 想 去哪儿 工作？ Yǐhòu nǐmen xiǎng qù nǎr gōngzuò? In the future, where do you want to go work?
• 我 以后 不 喝 酒 了 。 Wǒ yǐhòu bù hē jiǔ le. I will not drink alcohol in the future.
• 你 以前 住 在 哪儿？ Nǐ yǐqián zhù zài nǎr? Where did you live before?
• 他们 以前 没有 钱，可是 很 快乐。 Tāmen yǐqián méiyǒu qián, kěshì hěn kuàilè. Before, they didn't have much money, but they were happy.
• 我们 以后 不 在 这里 工作 了。 Wǒmen yǐhòu bù zài zhèlǐ gōngzuò le. We will not work here in the future.
• 你 以后 不 要 再 跟 他 见面 了。 Yǐhòu bù yào zài gēn tā jiànmiàn le. Don't meet up with him in the future.
• 我男朋友 以前 在 美国 工作，现在 在 中国 工作。 Wǒ nánpéngyou yǐqián zài Měiguó gōngzuò, xiànzài zài Zhōngguó gōngzuò . Before, my boyfriend worked in America. Now he works in China.