Ioannis Kazlaris
Past tense Hi all, I am a complete beginner when it comes to Mandarin Chinese so please bare with me. I am a little bit confused as to how the past tense is conveyed by using additional characters/words that refer directly to it. For instance: 1. 我去家 (I go home) 2. 我去家 (I went home) so from this I understand that it's impossible to tell if the action refers to the present or the past unless we listen to it in context. 3. 昨天去家 (Yesterday, I went home), this is clear to me. 4. 我去了家 (I went home) - Is this correct? If so, why not always use the character 了to avoid confusion? Please write any answers in English and give only the examples in Chinese :-) Thanks.
Jun 29, 2017 7:35 AM
Answers · 6
1
1. 我去家 (I go home) It'd always be 回家 for "go home" or "come home" where 回 literally means "to return",so 我回家 makes sense. 2. 我去家 (I went home) so from this I understand that it's impossible to tell if the action refers to the present or the past unless we listen to it in context. 我回了家 is more grammatically reasonable if you put 了 after 回 to indicate it happened in the past. 3. 昨天去家 (Yesterday, I went home), this is clear to me. 昨天我回了家 is more accurate. 4. 我去了家 (I went home) - Is this correct? If so, why not always use the character 了to avoid confusion? It's correct if you've used 我回了家. If the sentence is in a SIMPLE FORM (S-V-O), then it's better to add 了. e.g.: 昨天我回了家,早上我喝了牛奶,昨天他看了电影。However, since there's already a time maker like 昨天 at the beginning, it's still ok if you don't put 了, the sentence is still understandable.
June 29, 2017
1. 我去家 (I go home) >>> 我回家。For example: Where are you going? 你要去哪儿? I go home. 我回家。 2. 我去家 (I went home) so from this I understand that it's impossible to tell if the action refers to the present or the past unless we listen to it in context. >>> 我回家了。了 in Chinese is usually used as to say past tense. For example,: Did you eat? 你吃了吗? I ate. 我吃了。 3. 昨天去家 (Yesterday, I went home), this is clear to me. >>> 昨天我回家了。 去 means to other place. For example, I went your house to look for you. 我去了你家找你。 回 means to own's place. For example: I went to my home, my office, etc. 我回了我家,我公司,等等。 4. 我去了家 (I went home) - Is this correct? If so, why not always use the character 了to avoid confusion? >>> As I said above, I went home means 我回了家。 Hope this can help you.
June 29, 2017
1. 我去家 (I go home) This sentence is grammatically fine but almost always people would say 我回家 (I return home) instead of 我去家 2. 我去家 (I went home) so from this I understand that it's impossible to tell if the action refers to the present or the past unless we listen to it in context. You can add the world 了 at the end of the sentence to show that this is a completed action that has already taken place. 我去家 without 了 sounds like you are saying something you are about to do. 3. 昨天去家 (Yesterday, I went home), this is clear to me. 4. 我去了家 (I went home) - Is this correct? If so, why not always use the character 了to avoid confusion? Usually it's 我回家了 or 我去家了。Usually people do use 了 to make clear that something has already taken place, but you can also learn about the word 过, which is used to express that you've had the experience of doing something in the past. For instance, 我去过她的家 (I've gone to her house before)。You can also add the word "已经“ or already, which is often used together with 了, as in “我已经回家了” Hope it helps!
June 29, 2017
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