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Level Everyday Chinese · HSK 2

Before, After, When and From … To: 以前, 以后, 的时候, 从…到…

English time clauses can go at either end: "before I eat" / "I wash my hands before I eat". Chinese time clauses always come first, and the words for before, after and when go at the end of the clause, not the start: 吃饭以前 is "eat-meal before".

…以前, …以后, …的时候

Put 以前 (yǐqián, before), 以后 (yǐhòu, after) or 的时候 (de shíhou, when) at the end of the time clause, then the main clause. On their own, 以前 means "in the past" and 以后 "in future".

  • 吃饭以前要洗手。

    Chī fàn yǐqián yào xǐ shǒu.

    Wash your hands before you eat.

  • 下课以后我们去喝咖啡吧。

    Xià kè yǐhòu wǒmen qù hē kāfēi ba.

    Let's get a coffee after class.

  • 我小的时候住在上海。

    Wǒ xiǎo de shíhou zhù zài Shànghǎi.

    When I was little I lived in Shanghai.

  • 以前我不喜欢吃鱼。

    Yǐqián wǒ bù xǐhuan chī yú.

    I used to not like fish.

从…到…: from … to

从 (cóng) … 到 (dào) … gives a span of time or distance. The whole phrase comes before the verb.

  • 我从九点到五点工作。

    Wǒ cóng jiǔ diǎn dào wǔ diǎn gōngzuò.

    I work from nine to five.

  • 从这儿到机场要一个小时。

    Cóng zhèr dào jīchǎng yào yí ge xiǎoshí.

    It takes an hour to get from here to the airport.

Telling it in order: 然后, 后来, 接着, 当时

然后 (ránhòu) is the next step in a sequence, past or future. 接着 is "straight after that". 后来 (hòulái) is "later on", only about the past. 当时 (dāngshí) is "at that time" when telling a story.

WordMeaningTime
然后then, nextpast or future
接着straight afterpast or future
后来later onpast only
以后after; in futuremostly future
当时at that timepast

  • 我们先吃饭，然后去看电影。

    Wǒmen xiān chī fàn, ránhòu qù kàn diànyǐng.

    We'll eat first, then go and see a film.

  • 他去年去了中国，后来在那儿找到了工作。

    Tā qùnián qù le Zhōngguó, hòulái zài nàr zhǎodào le gōngzuò.

    He went to China last year and later found a job there.

  • 当时我很害怕。

    Dāngshí wǒ hěn hàipà.

    I was very scared at the time.

Common mistakes

  • ✗以前吃饭，要洗手。

    ✓吃饭以前要洗手。

    Chī fàn yǐqián yào xǐ shǒu.

    以前, 以后 and 的时候 go at the end of the time clause.

  • ✗我工作从九点到五点。

    ✓我从九点到五点工作。

    Wǒ cóng jiǔ diǎn dào wǔ diǎn gōngzuò.

    A time span goes before the verb, like other time expressions.

  • ✗明天我们吃饭，后来看电影。

    ✓明天我们先吃饭，然后看电影。

    Míngtiān wǒmen xiān chī fàn, ránhòu kàn diànyǐng.

    后来 is only for the past. For the next step of a plan, use 然后.

Questions learners ask

Can 的时候 refer to the future?

Yes: 你到的时候给我打电话 (call me when you arrive). It's about time, not tense.

What's the difference between 以后 and 后来?

以后 can follow a clause (下课以后) and can point to the future. 后来 stands alone and only tells what happened later in a past story.

Practice this in lessons

The Foundations lessons teach this step by step, with exercises and review built in.

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