Before a specific time with "yiqian"
Revision as of 08:32, 13 September 2012 by Oversjw0 (talk | contribs) (→Sources and further reading)
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Level
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Used for
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Keywords
As well as talking about the past in general, you can use 以前 to talk about things that happened before a specific time. The structure for this is:
Structure
Time + 以前， Subject + Verb + Object
The time can be a specific time, or an action.
Examples
- 上 大学 以前，我 不 会 写 论文。
- 三点 以前，我 在 咖啡店。
- 睡觉 以前，你 不 能 吃 糖。
- 结婚 以前，我 很 自由。
See also
Sources and further reading
- Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 260-1) →buy
- Boya Chinese Elementary Starter 2 (博雅汉语初经起步篇) (pp. 11-12) →buy
