Difference between revisions of "Expressing "before" in general with "yiqian""

Line 19: Line 19:
 
<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
  
* <em>以前</em> 我 不 会 说 中文。<span class="trans">Before, I could not speak Chinese.</span>
+
* <em>以前</em> 我 不 会 说 中文 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Yǐqián</em> wǒ bù huì shuō Zhōngwén.</span> <span class="trans">Before, I could not speak Chinese.</span>
* <em>以前</em> 我 住 在 上海。<span class="trans">Before, I lived in Shanghai.</span>
+
* <em>以前</em> 我 住 在 上海 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Yǐqián</em> wǒ zhù zài Shànghǎi.</span> <span class="trans">Before, I lived in Shanghai.</span>
* <em>以前</em> 我 是 一 个 老师。<span class="trans">Before, I was a teacher.</span>
+
* <em>以前</em> 我 是 一 个 老师 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Yǐqián</em> wǒ shì yī gè lǎoshī.</span> <span class="trans">Before, I was a teacher.</span>
* <em>以前</em> 我 不 喜欢 他。<span class="trans">Before, I didn't like him.</span>
+
* <em>以前</em> 我 不 喜欢 他 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Yǐqián</em> wǒ bù xǐhuan tā.</span> <span class="trans">Before, I didn't like him.</span>
* <em>以前</em> 我 不 喜欢 电影。<span class="trans">Before, I didn't like movies.</span>
+
* <em>以前</em> 我 不 喜欢 电影 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Yǐqián</em> wǒ bù xǐhuan diànyǐng.</span> <span class="trans">Before, I didn't like movies.</span>
* <em>以前</em> 我 没有 钱。<span class="trans">Before, I didn't have any money.</span>
+
* <em>以前</em> 我 没有 钱 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Yǐqián</em> wǒ méiyǒu qián.</span> <span class="trans">Before, I didn't have any money.</span>
* <em>以前</em> 我 很 快乐。<span class="trans">Before, I was very happy.</span>
+
* <em>以前</em> 我 很 快乐 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Yǐqián</em> wǒ hěn kuàilè.</span> <span class="trans">Before, I was very happy.</span>
* <em>以前</em> 我们 经常 聊天。<span class="trans">Before, we often talked together.</span>
+
* <em>以前</em> 我们 经常 聊天 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Yǐqián</em> wǒmen jīngcháng liáotiān.</span> <span class="trans">Before, we often talked together.</span>
* <em>以前</em> 她 很 喜欢 笑。<span class="trans">Before, she really liked laughing.</span>
+
* <em>以前</em> 她 很 喜欢 笑 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Yǐqián</em> tā hěn xǐhuan xiào.</span> <span class="trans">Before, she really liked laughing.</span>
* <em>以前</em> 我 很 爱 学习。<span class="trans">Before, I really loved studying.</span>
+
* <em>以前</em> 我 很 爱 学习 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Yǐqián</em> wǒ hěn ài xuéxí.</span> <span class="trans">Before, I really loved studying.</span>
  
 
</div>
 
</div>

Revision as of 07:53, 23 October 2014

Using "before" in Chinese is very simple. To talk about things in the past "in general", you can use the word 以前 (yǐqián). You can use this structure to talk about actions that happened at some unspecified time in the past.

以前 before the Subject

Structure

One way to use 以前 (yǐqián) is to start the sentence with it. This is like starting off a sentence in English with "before..." or "in the past...."

以前,+ Subject + Verb + Object

Examples

  • 以前 我 不 会 说 中文 。 Yǐqián wǒ bù huì shuō Zhōngwén. Before, I could not speak Chinese.
  • 以前 我 住 在 上海 。 Yǐqián wǒ zhù zài Shànghǎi. Before, I lived in Shanghai.
  • 以前 我 是 一 个 老师 。 Yǐqián wǒ shì yī gè lǎoshī. Before, I was a teacher.
  • 以前 我 不 喜欢 他 。 Yǐqián wǒ bù xǐhuan tā. Before, I didn't like him.
  • 以前 我 不 喜欢 电影 。 Yǐqián wǒ bù xǐhuan diànyǐng. Before, I didn't like movies.
  • 以前 我 没有 钱 。 Yǐqián wǒ méiyǒu qián. Before, I didn't have any money.
  • 以前 我 很 快乐 。 Yǐqián wǒ hěn kuàilè. Before, I was very happy.
  • 以前 我们 经常 聊天 。 Yǐqián wǒmen jīngcháng liáotiān. Before, we often talked together.
  • 以前 她 很 喜欢 笑 。 Yǐqián tā hěn xǐhuan xiào. Before, she really liked laughing.
  • 以前 我 很 爱 学习 。 Yǐqián wǒ hěn ài xuéxí. Before, I really loved studying.

以前 after the Subject

For pretty much the exact same sentences as in the previous section, you can also move 以前 (yǐqián) to right after the subject, and it's also correct.

Structure

Subject + 以前 + Verb + Object

Examples

  • 以前 不 会 说 中文。Before, I could not speak Chinese.
  • 以前 住 在 上海。Before, I lived in Shanghai.
  • 以前 是 一 个 老师。Before, I was a teacher.
  • 以前不 喜欢 他。Before, I didn't like him.
  • 以前 不 喜欢 电影。Before, I didn't like movies.
  • 以前 没有 钱。Before, I didn't have any money.
  • 以前 很 快乐。Before, I was very happy.
  • 我们 以前 经常 聊天。Before, we often talked together.
  • 以前 很 喜欢 笑。Before, she really liked laughing.
  • 以前 很 爱 学习。Before, I really loved studying.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

HSK3