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- <title>Expressing "before" in general with "yiqian"</title>
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- <h1>Expressing "before" in general with "<span class="pinyinst">yǐqián</span>" "<span class="hanzist">以前</span>"</h1>
- <p>To talk about things that previously occurred, you can use the word <span class="hanzi">以前</span> (<span class="pinyin">yǐqián</span>). You can use this structure to talk about actions that happened at some unspecified time in the past.</p>
- <h2 id="structure">Structure</h2>
- <p>One way to use <span class="hanzi">以前</span> (<span class="pinyin">yǐqián</span>) is to start the sentence with it. This is like starting off a sentence in English with "<b>before...</b>" or "<b>in the past...</b>"</p>
- <div class="deux">
- <p><span class="hanzist">以前</span> + Subj. + Verb + Obj.</p>
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- <p>You can also move <span class="hanzi">以前</span> (<span class="pinyin">yǐqián</span>) to right after the subject, and it's also correct.</p>
- <div class="deux">
- <p>Subj. + <span class="hanzist">以前</span> + Verb + Obj.</p>
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- <h2 id="examples">Examples</h2>
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- <ul>
- <li><span class="hanzi"><span class="fondjaune">以前</span> 我 不 会 说 中文 。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin"><span class="fondjaune">Yǐqián</span> wǒ bù huì shuō Zhōngwén.</span> <br/>Before, I could not speak Chinese.</li>
- <li><span class="hanzi">你 <span class="fondjaune">以前</span> 住 在 哪儿？</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Nǐ <span class="fondjaune">yǐqián</span> zhù zài nǎr?</span><br/> Before, where did you live?</li>
- <li><span class="hanzi"><span class="fondjaune">以前</span> 我 不 认识 他。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin"><span class="fondjaune">Yǐqián</span> wǒ bù rènshi tā.</span> <br/>Before, I didn't know him.</li>
- <li><span class="hanzi"><span class="fondjaune">以前</span> 他 是 我们 的 客户 吗？</span> <br/><span class="pinyin"><span class="fondjaune">Yǐqián</span> tā shì wǒmen de kèhù ma?</span> <br/>Was he our client before?</li>
- <li><span class="hanzi"><span class="fondjaune">以前</span> 他 是 一 个 服务员，现在 是 老板。</span><br/><span class="pinyin"><span class="fondjaune">Yǐqián</span> tā shì yī gè fúwùyuán, xiànzài shì lǎobǎn.</span><br/> Before, he was a waiter. Now, he is a boss.</li>
- <li><span class="hanzi">我 父母 <span class="fondjaune">以前</span> 都 是 老师。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ fùmǔ <span class="fondjaune">yǐqián</span> dōu shì lǎoshī.</span><br/> Before, both of my parents were teachers.</li>
- <li><span class="hanzi">爸爸 <span class="fondjaune">以前</span> 很 喜欢 抽烟。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Bàba <span class="fondjaune">yǐqián</span> hěn xǐhuan chōuyān.</span><br/> Before, dad really liked smoking.</li>
- <li><span class="hanzi">姐姐 <span class="fondjaune">以前</span> 有 一 个 很有钱 的 男朋友。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Jiějie <span class="fondjaune">yǐqián</span> yǒu yī gè hěn yǒuqián de nánpéngyou.</span> <br/>My older sister had a very rich boyfriend before.</li>
- <li><span class="hanzi">他们 <span class="fondjaune">以前</span> 没有 钱，可是 很 快乐。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Tāmen <span class="fondjaune">yǐqián</span> méiyǒu qián, kěshì hěn kuàilè.</span> <br/>They didn't have much money before, but they were happy.</li>
- <li><span class="hanzi">我男朋友 <span class="fondjaune">以前</span> 在 美国 工作，现在 在 中国 工作。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ nánpéngyou <span class="fondjaune">yǐqián</span> zài Měiguó gōngzuò, xiànzài zài Zhōngguó gōngzuò.</span> <br/>Before, my boyfriend worked in the USA. Now, he works in China.</li>
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- <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
- <ul>
- <li><a href="In_the_future_in_general" title="wikilink">In the future in general</a></li>
- <li><a href="Before_a_specific_time" title="wikilink">Before a specific time</a></li>
- <li><a href="At_the_time_when" title="wikilink">At the time when</a></li>
- <li><a href="Before_and_after_with_"zhiqian"_and_"zhihou"" title="wikilink">Before and after with "zhiqian" and "zhihou"</a></li>
- </ul>
- <h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further reading</h2>
- <h3 id="books">Books</h3>
- <ul>
- <li>Boya Chinese Elementary Starter 2 (<span class="hanzi">博雅汉语初经起步篇</span>) (p. 11)</li>
- <li>Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (p. 268)</li>
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