42 expressing sequence
42.1 Expressing the relationship ‘before’
42.1.1 the structure of the 以前 yHqián ‘before’ sentence
以前 yǐqián is used to indicate the relationship ‘before one event occurs, another event
occurs.’
event 1 以前 yǐqián, event 2
before event 1 , event 2我上大学以前，想去澳大利亚旅游。
我上大學以前，想去澳大利亞旅遊。
Wǒ shàng dàxué yǐqián, xiǎng qù Aòdàlìyà lǚyóu.
Before I attend university, I want to go to Australia to travel.妈妈上班以前，都吃早饭。
媽媽上班以前，都吃早飯。
Māma shàng bān yǐqián, dōu chī zǎofàn.
Before Mom goes to work, she always eats breakfast.To indicate that a sequence occurred in the past, follow the verb of the second clause with
perfective 了 le.我来中国以前，在日本住了一年。
我來中國以前，在日本住了一年。
Wǒ lái Zhōngguó yǐqián, zài Rìběn zhù le yīnián.
Before I came to China, I lived in Japan for a year.Note the more literary form of 以前 yhqián is 之前 zhcqián.
C9.6
42.1.2 Comparing 以前 yHqián with ‘before’
以前 yǐqián signals the same relationship of sequence as the English word ‘before.’ However,
there are important differences between 以前 yǐqián and ‘before.’- 以前 yǐqián occurs at the end of the first clause:
妈妈上班以前
妈妈上班以前
Māma shàng bān yǐqián‘Before’ occurs at the beginning of the first clause:before Mom goes to work