Aspects & Time

Chinese dates run from big to small — year, then month, then day: 2025年4月1号. Months are just a number + 月 (no names to memorize), and the day takes 号 in speech or 日 in writing.

一直 (yīzhí) stretches an action or state over one unbroken span of time — you've been doing something “all along,” “the whole time,” or continuously. It sits after the subject, before the verb or adjective.

To say something has already happened or changed, Chinese uses a pair: 已经 (“already”) … 了. The 了 at the end is the part everyone forgets. It works with verbs, adjectives and times.

总是 (zǒngshì) means “always” — every time, a habit, a reliable pattern. It's an adverb, so it comes before the verb; before an adjective it needs a degree word (总是很累).

刚 (gāng) means “just” — something happened a moment ago. It's an adverb, so it sits right before the verb (我刚到 = “I just arrived”). 刚刚 is the same word, a touch more emphatic.

在 (zài) marks an action in progress — Chinese's “-ing”. Subject + 在 + verb (我在吃饭 = “I'm eating”). 正在 (zhèngzài) is the same with a bit more “right now” emphasis.

To say you're doing two things at the same time, Chinese brackets both verbs with 一边: Subject + 一边 + Verb1 + 一边 + Verb2 (我一边走一边唱歌 = “I sing while walking”). 边 is the casual short form.

以后 (yǐhòu) does two jobs: attached to a time or event it means “after” (下班以后 = “after work”), and on its own it means “in the future / from now on” (以后我想去中国). The catch — 以后 comes AFTER the time, not before.

以前 (yǐqián) is the mirror of 以后: attached to a time or event it means “before” (吃饭以前 = “before eating”), and on its own it means “before / in the past / used to” (以前我不会说中文). Like 以后, it comes AFTER the time, not before.

刚才 (gāngcái) is “just now” — a time noun for the very recent past, a few minutes ago (你刚才说什么了？). It moves around the subject, usually takes 了, and — unlike the adverb 刚 — it can even modify a noun: 刚才的事.

的时候 (de shíhou) means “when” or “while” — it marks the time something happens, attached to the END of the time clause: Verb/Adj + 的时候 (我上大学的时候 = “when I was in college”). Unlike English, the “when” comes last.

Telling time hangs on 点 (o'clock) and 分 (minutes): 八点二十分 = 8:20. Add 半 (half), 刻 (quarter), 零 (for minutes under 10) and 差 (“minutes to”) and you can say any time.

A 了 at the END of a sentence means a NEW situation — something has changed. 我饿了 = “I've got hungry”, 下雨了 = “it's raining now”, 我不去了 = “I'm not going anymore”. It's a different 了 from the completed-action one after the verb.

No — 了 marks completion (aspect), not past tense. Right after a verb it says the action is finished: 我买了 (“I('ve) bought it”), 我吃了三个 (“I ate three”). It works in future sentences too.

To say “not anymore”, add the change particle 了 to a negative: 不 + verb (不喝了 = “not drinking anymore”) or 没 + noun (没钱了 = “out of money”). 已经 can add emphasis. Drop the 了 and you lose the “anymore”.

The aspect particle 过 (guo) marks an experience — you've done something at least once, at no particular time: 我去过北京 (“I've been to Beijing”), 你吃过吗？(“have you ever eaten…?”). Negate with 没…过 (“never”).

Repeating a verb makes the action brief, light and casual — “have a little look,” “give it a try.” Three shapes: AA for one-syllable verbs (看看), V一V with 一 inserted (看一看), and ABAB for two-syllable verbs (研究研究 — the whole word, never 研研究究).

Add 一下 (yīxià, said yíxià) after a verb to make the action brief, casual and light: 你看一下这个 (“have a quick look at this”). It’s the easy twin of verb reduplication — 看一下 ≈ 看看 — but it simply tacks on, so it works smoothly with two-syllable verbs too (介绍一下).

了 isn’t only for the past! Paired with 快, 快要, or 要, the sentence-final 了 says something is about to happen: 快下雨了 (“it’s about to rain”), 火车要开了 (“the train’s about to leave”), 天快黑了 (“it’s almost dark”). The 了 marks the imminent change.

还 (hái) for “still” marks something that hasn’t changed yet. 还在 + Verb is an action still in progress (你还在工作？ “still working?”); 还是 + Verb means it happened anyway, despite everything (我们还是出发了, “we still set off”); 还 + 不/没 + Verb is a pointed “still hasn’t / still doesn’t?” (你还没起床？). Keep it apart from 再 (“again”).

就要…了 and 快要…了 both mean “about to,” but only 就要 (or bare 就) can pin a SPECIFIC time: 还有 + Time + 就要 + Verb + 了 — 还有十分钟我就下班了 (“I get off in ten minutes”). 快要 stays general (快要下班了). The “about to” always lives in the final 了.

再 (zài) is “again” for things that haven’t happened yet — Subject + 再 + Verb Phrase: 我下次再来 (“I’ll come again”). It also means “another / some more” (再来一杯咖啡, “another coffee”) and “keep doing / a bit longer” (再想想, “keep thinking”). For “again” in the past, you need 又 instead.

又 (yòu) is “again” for things that have already happened — (Subject +) 又 + Verb + 了: 你又迟到了 (“you’re late again”). Negatively, 又 + 没 + Verb means “didn’t … again” (他又没及格). For “again” in the future, you need 再 instead.

一下子 (yíxiàzi) is a colloquial adverb for “all at once / suddenly / in an instant” — a fast, sharp change in a very short time. Subject + 一下子 + Predicate + 了: 天气一下子变冷了 (“it suddenly turned cold”). Add 就 for “right away / easily” (我一下子就明白了). Because it implies completion, it almost always ends in 了.

都…了 (dōu … le) means “already,” like 已经…了 — but with attitude: impatience, surprise, “come on, it’s already…!” 都 + Time + 了 (都九点了，你还不起床？) or Subject + 都 + Predicate + 了 (饭都凉了). Here 都 means “already,” NOT “all.”

从来 (cónglái) is best known as “never” (从来不/没), but in the POSITIVE — paired with 都 — it means “always / have always (done).” Subject + 从来 + 都 (+ 是) + Predicate: 他从来都很努力 (“he’s always been hardworking”). It says something has been true consistently, right from the start.

终于 (zhōngyú) means “finally / at last” — a long-awaited result has arrived, usually with relief or joy. The frame is Subj + 终于 + Predicate + 了 — 公交车终于来了 (“the bus finally came!”). 终于 always needs the final 了, sits after the subject, and can’t lead or end the sentence.

之前 (zhīqián) means “before / previously” and is the more formal twin of 以前. After a time or event it means “before X” (考试之前 = “before the exam”); standing alone at the front of a later clause it means “previously / before that” (他现在是经理，之前只是普通员工). It works just like 以前, only a touch more formal.

之后 (zhīhòu) means “after / afterwards” and is the more formal twin of 以后. After a time or event it means “after X” (开会之后 = “after the meeting”); standing alone at the front of a later clause it means “afterwards / after that” (我先去了银行，之后又去了超市). It works like 以后, only a touch more formal, but it can’t mean the open future.

以来 (yǐlái) means “ever since,” marking a stretch of time that runs from a past event right up to now: 毕业以来，我一直很忙 (“ever since I graduated, I’ve been busy the whole time”). After a length of time you can shorten it to bare 来 (三年来, “over the past three years”). It usually pairs with 一直 or 没…过.

时 (shí) means “when” and is the shorter, more formal twin of 的时候. You put it after a time or event, exactly where 的时候 would go (考试时 = 考试的时候, “when taking the exam”), but it drops both the 的 and the 候. You’ll meet 时 in notices, instructions, set phrases and writing; everyday speech uses 的时候.

后来 (hòulái) means “afterwards / later on” and sequences two PAST events that have already happened: 他一开始很紧张，后来慢慢放松了 (“at first he was nervous; later he gradually relaxed”). It leads the second event after a comma. Both events must be in the past, so 后来 can never order a plan or a future step (that’s 然后).

着 (zhe) is the durative aspect particle: add it after a verb to mark a continuing state or the manner of an action. It is not the English “-ing” (that progressive is 在). 门开着 means “the door is open” (a state), 站着吃饭 means “eat standing up” (manner), and 拿着 is “hold onto it”. The key split: 着 is a state that holds, 在 is an action in progress.

直到 (zhídào) means “all the way until,” marking the end-point of a span that runs from earlier right up to it. It comes in two forms. With 才 it means “not until X did Y happen” (直到十二点，我才睡 = “I didn't sleep until twelve”). With 都 + 没/不 it means something still hadn't happened by then (直到天黑，他都没回家 = “by nightfall he still hadn't come home”).

Chinese marks an action in progress with one long frame: Subject + 正在 / 正 / 在 + Verb (+ 着 + Object) + 呢. Almost every piece is optional, so you mostly see fragments. 在 + verb is the plain progressive (我在吃饭), 正在 adds “right in the middle of,” 正 pins the exact moment, and a bare 呢 can carry it alone (我吃饭呢). With a separable verb, 着 wedges inside: 开着会.

每次……都 (měi cì… dōu) is how Chinese says “every time” or “whenever.” The catch is that 都 is required, even though English needs nothing after “every time”: 每次 + Event 1 + 都 + Event 2. 她每次来都带花 (“every time she comes, she brings flowers”). Drop the 都 and it’s wrong, and it’s always 都, never 也.

Chinese asks and answers “how often” with one frame: [Time span] + Verb + [Number]次 (+ Object). To ask, set the span to 多长时间 and the count to 一次 (你多长时间锻炼一次？, “how often do you exercise?”). To answer, fill in a real span and count (我一周锻炼三次, “three times a week”). The time span always comes first, and there’s no word for “per.”

等到 (děngdào) starts out as “wait until,” but as a conjunction it means “by the time / once / when a point is reached.” It leads the sentence with a time or event, then the main clause says what follows: 等(到) + Time / Event，(Subj) + 就 / 再 / 才 + Predicate. The second-clause adverb sets the tense: 就 / 再 look forward (等到夏天就会热, “when summer comes it’ll get hot”), while 才 marks a past “not until” (等我到家才发现, “not until I got home did I realize”). The 到 is optional (short form 等).

V 都 V 了 (V dōu V le) repeats a verb around 都 to mean “now that you’ve already [verb]-ed…”: 来都来了 (“now that you’re here”), 买都买了 (“you’ve already bought it”), 说都说了 (“it’s already been said”). It frames the action as a done deal and usually leads into a 就…吧 clause of resignation or advice. Close to 既然…就 (“since…, then…”). The 都 isn’t “all,” and the 了 is required.

曾经 (céngjīng) is the adverb for “once (upon a time) / formerly / used to.” It comes before the verb and marks that something was the case in the past, usually with the sense that it isn't now. With action verbs it pairs with 过 (我曾经去过西藏), and with 是 / 在 / 有 it takes no 过 (他曾经是我老板). Its negative is simply 没……过, never 没曾经.

再三 (zàisān) is the formal “repeatedly / time and again / over and over.” Literally 再 (“again”) plus 三 (“three”), it comes before the verb, usually a two-syllable one, and marks earnest, deliberate repetition, most often stressing, reminding, or deliberating: 老师再三强调 (“the teacher stressed over and over”), 经过再三考虑 (“after much consideration”). It usually skips 了 and 过.

一向 (yīxiàng) is the “always / all along” of a settled habit, attitude, or trait that has held true right up to the present, the feeling of “it's always been this way”: Subject + 一向 + a stative predicate (他一向很谦虚, “he's always been modest”; 我一向不喝咖啡, “I've never been a coffee drinker”). It can't mark an action in progress or a change (那用 一直), and it can't reach into the future.

V了又V is how you say you did something over and over: take a single-syllable verb, put 了 after the first, 又 in the middle, and repeat the same verb, Subject + Verb + 了 + 又 + Verb (我看了又看, “I looked again and again”). It marks insistent past repetition, usually leading to 还是 / 就是 (“and still nothing changed”) or 终于 (“and finally it worked”). It's not 又 A 又 B (“both A and B”).

当……的时候 (dāng … de shíhou) means “when,” framing a time clause at the front of the sentence: 当 opens the bracket, 时候 (spoken) or 时 (formal) closes it: 当我年轻的时候，学费很便宜 (“when I was young, tuition was cheap”). The “when” itself is really 的时候; 当 is an optional, slightly formal opener you can always drop (我年轻的时候 means the same). But 当 needs a full event-clause after it, the time clause comes first, and 当 can never ask “when?” (that's 什么时候).

Completion 了 (了1) can sit after the verb (我买了车) OR after the object (我买车了) for the same meaning, and object length decides which sounds natural: a short bare object takes 了 at the end (我上课了, not the dangling 我上了课), a long object keeps 了 after the verb (我读了老师推荐的那本书). 了 also stays after the verb when the object is quantified (买了一辆车) or a time/place is present (昨天看了电影). A second 了 at the end means “already, and counting” (喝了三杯了) or strong confirmation.