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The time nouns yǐqián 以前 ‘in the past, previously’ and yǐhòu 以后/以後 ‘in the future’ can be used as standalone time words or in the fixed pattern ……yǐqián 以前 ‘before…’ and ……yǐhòu 以后/以後 ‘after…’, indicating the temporal sequence of actions or events. When used in fixed patterns, yǐqián 以前 and yǐhòu 以后/以後 should be placed after a time noun or a verbal phrase indicating an action or an event.
Here is a list of these usages with examples:
1. yǐqián 以前 ‘in the past, previouly’ and yǐhòu 以后/以後 ‘in the future’
2. time word + yǐqián 以前 and time word + yǐhòu 以后/以後 indicating before or after a specific time
3. verbal phrase + yǐqián 以前 and verbal phrase + yǐhòu 以后/以後 indicating before or after doing something
Structure
1. yǐqián 以前 and yǐhòu 以后/以後 used as standalone time nouns
Similar to other time nouns, yǐqián 以前 and yǐhòu 以后/以後 can be used either before or after the subject.
2. fixed patterns: time noun + 以前 and time noun + 以后/以後
These patterns can be placed at the beginning of a sentence or after the subject. When occurring at the sentence-initial position, they are typically followed by a comma.
When this pattern occurs after the subject, zài 在 can sometimes be added, for emphasizing.
3. fixed patterns: verbal phrase + 以前 and verbal phrase + 以后/以後
These patterns can be placed at the beginning of a sentence or after the subject. When occurring at the sentence-initial position, they are typically followed by a comma.
In spoken Chinese, yǐqián 以前 and yǐhòu 以后/以後 can be reduced to qián 前 or hòu 后/後 in these patterns. In the examples above, shorter forms such as chī fàn qián 吃饭前/吃飯前 ‘before eating’, huí jiā hòu 回家后/回家後 ‘after going home’, bā diǎn qián 八点前 /八點前 ‘before 8 o’clock’ are possible.
Functions
1. indicating past or the future
The standalone time nouns yǐqián 以前 and yǐhòu 以后/以後 can be used either before or after the subject of a sentence, to indicate the past or future.
2. Temporal ordering of an event before or after a reference point
The structure time noun + yǐqián 以前 and time noun + yǐhòu 以后/以後 can also be used with specific times or dates to emphasize whether an action happened earlier or later than its reference time point.
3. Indicating the sequence of events
The patterns verbal phrase + yǐqián 以前 and verbal phrase + yǐhòu 以后/以後 are usually used to indicate the temporal sequence of two actions or events.
The aspect marker le 了 or the result complement wán 完 ‘finish’ can sometimes appear within the pattern verbal phrase + yǐhòu 以后/以後, to emphasize the completion or termination of an event.