Expressing "before" in general with "yiqian"

Using "before" in Chinese is very simple.

Structure

To talk about things in the past "in general", you can use the word 以前 (yǐqián).

以前 + Subject + Verb + Object

Subject + 以前 + Verb + Object

You can use this structure to talk about actions that happened at some unspecified time in the past.

Examples

• 以前我 不 会 中文。Before,I could not speak Chinese.
• 我 以前 不 喝 啤酒。I didn't drink beer before.
• 以前 我 不 喜欢 电影。Before, I didn't like movies.
• 我 以前 很 喜欢 吃 面条。I'd like noodles before.
• 以前 我 住 在 上海。Before I lived in Shanghai.
• 我 以前 去 过 纽约。I went to New York before.
• 以前 我 是 一 个 老师。Before I was a teacher.
• 我 以前 没 在 医院 工作。I didn't work at the hospital before.
• 以前 我 想 做 一 个 生意 人。Before I wanted to be a "business man".
• 我 以前 总是 喜欢 哭。I already liked to cry before.

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) (pp. 11) →buy
• Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 268) →buy

HSK3