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.

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..."

<div class="jiegou">
以前 + Subj. + Verb + Obj.

</div>
You can also move 以前 (yǐqián) to right after the subject, and it's
also correct.

<div class="jiegou">
Subj. + 以前 + Verb + Obj.

</div>
Examples
--------

<div class="liju">
-   <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>
-   你 <em>以前</em> 住 在 哪儿？ <span class="pinyin">Nǐ
    <em>yǐqián</em> zhù zài nǎr?</span><span class="trans">Before, where
    did you live?</span>
-   <em>以前</em> 我 不 认识 他。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Yǐqián</em>
    wǒ bù rènshi tā.</span><span class="trans">Before, I didn't know
    him.</span>
-   <em>以前</em> 他 是 我们 的 客户 吗？
    <span class="pinyin"><em>Yǐqián</em> tā shì wǒmen de kèhù ma?
    </span><span class="trans">Was he our client before? </span>
-   <em>以前</em> 他 是 一 个 服务员，现在 是
    老板。<span class="pinyin"><em>Yǐqián</em> tā shì yī gè fúwùyuán,
    xiànzài shì lǎobǎn.</span><span class="trans">Before, he was
    a waiter. Now, he is a boss.</span>
-   我 父母 <em>以前</em> 都 是 老师。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ fùmǔ
    <em>yǐqián</em> dōu shì lǎoshī.</span><span class="trans">Before,
    both of my parents were teachers.</span>
-   爸爸 <em>以前</em> 很 喜欢 抽烟。<span class="pinyin">Bàba
    <em>yǐqián</em> hěn xǐhuan
    chōuyān.</span><span class="trans">Before, dad really liked
    smoking.</span>
-   姐姐 <em>以前</em> 有 一 个 很有钱 的
    男朋友。<span class="pinyin">Jiějie <em>yǐqián</em> yǒu yī gè hěn
    yǒuqián de nánpéngyou.</span><span class="trans">My older sister had
    a very rich boyfriend before.</span>
-   他们 <em>以前</em> 没有 钱，可是 很 快乐。<span class="pinyin">Tāmen
    <em>yǐqián</em> méiyǒu qián, kěshì hěn
    kuàilè.</span><span class="trans">They didn't have much money
    before, but they were happy.</span>
-   我男朋友 <em>以前</em> 在 美国 工作，现在 在 中国
    工作。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ nánpéngyou <em>yǐqián</em> zài Měiguó
    gōngzuò, xiànzài zài Zhōngguó
    gōngzuò.</span><span class="trans">Before, my boyfriend worked in
    the USA. Now, he works in China.</span>

</div>
See also
--------

-   [In the future in general](In_the_future_in_general "wikilink")
-   [Before a specific time](Before_a_specific_time "wikilink")
-   [At the time when](At_the_time_when "wikilink")
-   [Before and after with "zhiqian" and
    "zhihou"](Before_and_after_with_"zhiqian"_and_"zhihou" "wikilink")

Sources and further reading
---------------------------

### Books

-   [Boya Chinese Elementary Starter
    2 (博雅汉语初经起步篇)](Boya_Chinese_Elementary_Starter_2_(博雅汉语初经起步篇) "wikilink") (p.
    11)
    [→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7301078617/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=7301078617)
-   [Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical
    Guide](Modern_Mandarin_Chinese_Grammar:_A_Practical_Guide "wikilink") (p.
    268)
    [→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415700108?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0415700108)

[Category:A2 grammar points](Category:A2_grammar_points "wikilink")