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Spoken Description

学习常用时间表达，包括小时、分钟、日期、星期、月份和年份。涵盖“昨天”、“今天”、“明天”、“周末”、“去年”等词组，配合实例和练习提升口语和写作流畅度。

Learn common temporal expressions, including hours, minutes, dates, months, and years. Cover words like 'yesterday', 'today', 'tomorrow', weekend, last year, with examples and practice to improve speaking and writing fluency.

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Temporal expressions situate an action in time and are essential for telling when something happens, happened, or will happen. They work naturally with Mandarin's aspect markers to give a clear timeline. Below you will find common expressions for past, present, and future, as well as habitual and specific time phrases.

Key Temporal Expressions

关键的时间表达包括“昨天”、“今天”、“明天”以及像“小时”、“天”、“星期”这样的时间单位。它们通常出现在句子开头，以设定时间范围。

Key temporal expressions include words for "yesterday," "today," "tomorrow," and general time units like "hour," "day," and "week." They usually appear at the beginning of a sentence to set the time frame.

Hanzi Character(s)	Pinyin Word(s)	English Translation(s)
昨天	zuótiān	yesterday
今天	jīntiān	today
明天	míngtiān	tomorrow
现在	xiànzài	now
时候	shíhou	time / moment
年	nián	year
月	yuè	month
星期 / 礼拜	xīngqī / lǐbài	week
小时	xiǎoshí	hour
分钟	fēnzhōng	minute

Fill in the Blank(yesterday) 我去了市场。

Yesterday I went to the market.

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过去的时间

过去时间表达如“昨天”、“前天”以及具体日期，将一个动作定位在过去。它们常与了或体标记一起出现，以表示动作已完成或已发生。

Past time expressions like "昨天," "前天," and specific dates anchor an action in the past. They often appear with 了 or aspect markers to signal completion.

Hanzi Character(s)	Pinyin Word(s)	English Translation(s)
前天	qiántiān	the day before yesterday
去年	qùnián	last year
上个月	shàng ge yuè	last month
上星期	shàng xīngqī	last week
以前	yǐqián	before / ago
刚才	gāngcái	just now

Fill in the Blank(last week) 我们去爬山了。

Last week we went hiking.

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现在的时间

现在时间表达如“现在”、“今天”和“刚刚”，表示正在发生的动作或一般的现在状态。可以用在进行中的动作或习惯性陈述中。

Present time expressions like "现在," "今天," and "刚刚" set an action in the current moment or general present. They can be used with ongoing actions or habitual statements.

Hanzi Character(s)	Pinyin Word(s)	English Translation(s)
刚刚	gānggāng	just now / a moment ago
现在	xiànzài	now
今天	jīntiān	today
每天	měitiān	every day
每周 / 每星期	měi zhōu / měi xīngqī	every week
经常	jīngcháng	often

Fill in the Blank你(now) 在做什么？

What are you doing now?

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将来的时间

将来时间表达如“明天”、“以后”和“下个月”，表明动作将在何时发生。通常与情态动词或时间副词连用，将动作置于参照点之后。

Future time expressions like "明天," "以后," and "下个月" indicate when an action will happen. They commonly co-occur with modal verbs or time adverbs and place the action after the reference point.

Hanzi Character(s)	Pinyin Word(s)	English Translation(s)
明天	míngtiān	tomorrow
后天	hòutiān	the day after tomorrow
今年	jīnnián	this year
下个月	xià ge yuè	next month
下星期	xià xīngqī	next week
以后	yǐhòu	after / later

Fill in the Blank我们(tomorrow) 去看电影。

We'll go see a movie tomorrow.

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习惯性时间

习惯性时间表达如“每天”、“常常”和“平时”，描述重复发生的动作或习惯性。它们与现在时动词或习惯体标记连用，表示动作经常进行。

Habitual time expressions such as "每天," "常常," and "平时" describe repeated actions or routines. They appear with present-tense verbs or habitual aspect and signal that the action occurs regularly.

Hanzi Character(s)	Pinyin Word(s)	English Translation(s)
每天	měitiān	every day
每周 / 每星期	měi zhōu / měi xīngqī	every week
经常	jīngcháng	often
平时	píngshí	usually / normally
有时候	yǒu shíhòu	sometimes
一般	yìbān	generally

Fill in the Blank我(every week) 跟朋友打篮球。

I play basketball with friends every week.

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Specific Temporal Phrases

具体时间短语可以精确指出某一时间或持续时间，如“三年前”、“两个小时” 和“下午三点”。它们提供了事件发生的详细时间或持续时间。

Specific temporal phrases can pinpoint an exact time or duration, such as "三年前," "两个小时," and "下午三点." They provide detail for when an event occurs or how long it lasts.

Hanzi Character(s)	Pinyin Word(s)	English Translation(s)
三年前	sān nián qián	three years ago
两个月后	liǎng ge yuè hòu	two months later
一个小时	yí ge xiǎoshí	one hour
五分钟	wǔ fēnzhōng	five minutes
下午三点	xiàwǔ sān diǎn	3 PM
早上	zǎoshang	morning

Fill in the Blank我(three years ago) 去过北京。

I went to Beijing three years ago.

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Summary

时间表达一般出现在句首，用来设定时间，并且与体标记（如了、过、着）配合，帮助澄清动作发生的时间。习惯性短语表示规律性，具体时间短语提供精确的参照点。学习关键的时间词，可帮助你准确地将动作置于过去、现在或将来。

Temporal expressions consistently appear at the sentence start to set time, and they work with aspect markers like 了, 过, and 着 to clarify when an action occurs. Habitual phrases signal routines, while specific times give exact reference points. Learning key time words ensures you can place actions accurately in past, present, or future.

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