Expressing "all along" with "yizhi"

Expressing "all along" with 一直 (yīzhí) is pretty easy. Character for character, it literally means "one straight," and it's sort of like saying "constantly."

Structure

This structure expresses the continuation of an action or a circumstance.

Subject + 一直 + Predicate

Examples

• 我 一直 很 忙。I am always very busy.
• 北京 的 空气 一直 很 不 好。The air in Beijing has been bad for a while.
• 她 一直 很 喜欢 上海。She has always liked Shanghai a lot.
• 我 一直 很 爱 你！I've always loved you a lot!
• 你 会 一直 学 中文 吗？Will you keep studying Chinese?
• 我 一直 想 在 中国 做 老师。I've always wanted to be a teacher in China.
• 从 7:00am 到 10:00pm，我 一直 在 工作。From 7:00am till 10:00pm I am continuously working.
• 18 岁 以后，他 一直 一个人 住。Since turning 18, he has always lived alone.
• 我 一直 在 现在 的 公司 里 工作。I've always worked at this company.
• 从 这里 一直 走，十 五 分钟 后 你 会 看 到 一 个 大 公园。Keep walking straight from here, after 15 minutes you will see a big park.

See also

• "Always" with "zongshi"
• "Since the beginning" with "yixiang"
• Comparing "yizhi" and "yixiang"

Sources and further reading

Books

• 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (pp. 610) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 308-9) →buy

Dictionaries

• 现代汉语词典（第5版） (pp. 1601) →buy