Talking about the Past

Mandarin Chinese Past Tense – A Perspective

Fundamentals of Past Tense

Unlike in many languages, verb forms in Mandarin Chinese stay the same for any tense. For example, 看 ‘kàn’ (watch) is unchanged for past, present, or future tense.
The context and time phrase used in a sentence often determines the tense in Mandarin Chinese.

Expression of Past Tense

Past tense is typically expressed through time phrases or adverbs such as 昨天 ‘zuótiān’ (yesterday), 刚才 ‘gāngcái’ (just now).
Example: 我昨天看电影。’wǒ zuótiān kàn diànyǐng.’ (I watched a movie yesterday.)

Usage of 了 ‘le’

了 ‘le’ is a particle that often signifies a completed action.
了 ‘le’ usually comes at the end of a sentence or immediately after the verb.
Example: 我吃了。’wǒ chī le.’ (I have eaten.)

Expression of Specific Past Periods

Specific moments in the past can also be expressed by using the word 前 ‘qián’ (ago) after a time phrase.
Example: 我三天前去了电影院。’wǒ sān tiān qián qù le diànyǐngyuàn.’ (I went to the cinema three days ago.)

Getting a Grip on Past Tense

Ensure you’re familiar with different time phrases and adverbs to express past tense.
Try to use 了 ‘le’ in sentences to express completed actions.
Work on creating sentences about your past experiences, using the techniques discussed.
As verbs are not conjugated, remember that context and time phrases determine the tense.

Get to know the system of past tense in Mandarin Chinese to enhance your grammatical awareness and improve your fluency. Like with other aspects of Chinese grammar, it’s more about getting the context right than strict rule-following, making your understanding of past events or actions more accurate.