<p>自从 means &quot;ever since&quot; in English, and is used to express the starting point of an action in the past. It can be followed by phrases using the markers 起 and <a href="After_a_specific_time" title="wikilink">以后</a></p>
<h2 id="structure">Structure</h2>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>自从 + [Starting Point]</p>
</div>
<h2 id="examples">Examples</h2>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li><em>自从</em> 来 到 湖南，我 越 来 越 能 吃 辣 了。<span class="trans">Ever since arriving in Hunan, I've been more and more able to eat spicy food.</span></li>
<li><em>自从</em> 金融 危机 爆发，就业 市场 变 得 越 来 越 不 景气 了。<span class="trans">Ever since the economic crisis, the job market has been growing less and less.</span></li>
<li><em>自从</em> 他 跟 我 分手 后，他 就 没有 联系 过 我。<span class="trans">Ever since he broke up with me, he hasn't contacted me.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>In the above examples, 从 can be used interchangeably with 自从. The main difference is that 从 can also be used to state starting points in the future, a little like &quot;from&quot; in English. 自从 cannot be used in this way.</p>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li><em>从</em> 明天 开始，我 要 认真 看 书。<span class="trans">Starting from tomorrow, I'm going to study seriously.</span></li>
<li><em>自从</em> 明天 开始，我 要 认真 看 书。</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>Note that 从 can be used to denote <a href="&quot;From…_To…&quot;_with_&quot;cong…_dao…&quot;" title="wikilink">starting points in place and time</a>, whereas 自从 can only be used to express starting points in time.</p>
<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="From…_to…" title="wikilink">From… to…</a></li>
<li><a href="Saying_&quot;ever_since&quot;_with_&quot;yilai&quot;" title="wikilink">Saying &quot;ever since&quot; with &quot;yilai&quot;</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further reading</h2>
<h3 id="books">Books</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="Boya_Chinese_Lower_Intermediate_1_(博雅汉语准中级加速篇)" title="wikilink">Boya Chinese Lower Intermediate 1 (博雅汉语准中级加速篇)</a> (pp. 218) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7301075308/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399373&amp;creativeASIN=7301075308">→buy</a></li>
</ul>
<p>          </p>
<p><a href="Category:_B2_grammar_points" title="wikilink">Category: B2 grammar points</a></p>