A2 · Grammar reference · ASGVCWLU
Expressing "before" in general with "yiqian"
To talk about things that previously occurred, 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.
- Keywords
- 以前 · before
- Used for
- Expressing time and date · Sequencing events in time · Referring to the past
- Classification
- Nouns
Examples (10)
以前我不会说中文。
你以前住在哪儿？
以前我不认识他。
以前他是我们的客户吗？
以前他是一个服务员，现在是老板。
我父母以前都是老师。
爸爸以前很喜欢抽烟。
姐姐以前有一个很有钱的男朋友。
他们以前没有钱，可是很快乐。
我男朋友以前在美国工作，现在在中国工作。
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Summary, structure, classification, and adapted sentence examples draw from the AllSet Learning Chinese Grammar Wiki under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0; changes were made. This noncommercial reference is based on an October 2023 snapshot.
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