Aspect
Chinese does not use the concept of formal tenses. Instead, it employs what is called "grammatical aspect." Because Chinese does not have tenses, the question, "how do you form the past tense in Chinese?" is non-sensical. The real question is, "how do you refer to events in the past in Chinese?" You do this through aspect in Chinese, not tense[1].
Aspectual Particles
Aspect is expressed in Chinese through several key particles (click through for more information on each):
- 了: The Perfective Aspectual Particle
- 过: The Experiential Aspectual Particle
- 着: The Durative Aspectual Particle
References
- ↑ See Sinosplice.com: "Aspect, Not Tense"
