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。
• 我以前去 过 纽约。
• 以前我 是 一 个 老师。
• 我以前没 在 医院 工作。
• 以前我 想 做 一 个 生意 人。
• 我以前总是 喜欢 哭。

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