A2 · Grammar reference
Before a specific time with "yiqian"
As well as talking about the past in general, you can use 以前 (yǐqián) to talk about things that happened before a specific time.
- Keywords
- 以前 · 以 · 前 · before
- Used for
- Expressing time and date · Referring to the past · Sequencing events in time
- Classification
- Nouns · HSK1 · HSK3
Examples (10)
吃饭以前，你洗手了吗？
睡觉以前，不要吃东西。
两年以前，你认识他吗？
星期五以前，你要做完这些工作。
上大学以前，你来过上海吗？
结婚以前，你应该先买房子。
二十年以前，这里是一个公园。
几个月以前，他们分手了。
毕业以前，我要找到工作。
当总统以前，Obama没有白头发。
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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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