HSK 5 grammar · new HSK syllabus
曾经, 始终, 早已, 即将: time adverbs
曾经 = once, in the past; 始终 = all along; 早已 = long since; 即将 = about to (formal).
Structure
- 曾经 + verb (+ 过)
- 始终 + verb
- 早已 + verb
- 即将 + verb
How it works
曾经 talks about something that happened at some point in the past, often with 过: 我曾经在北京工作过.
始终 means from start to finish without change: 他始终没有放弃.
早已 means “long ago, already”: 他早已离开了.
即将 is a formal “about to”, common in news: 比赛即将开始.
Examples
-
我曾经在上海住过两年。
I once lived in Shanghai for two years.
-
虽然遇到了很多困难，他始终没有放弃。
Despite many difficulties, he never gave up.
-
我们到的时候，他早已离开了。
By the time we arrived, he had long since left.
-
新的学期即将开始。
The new term is about to begin.
-
他始终相信自己能成功。
He always believed he could succeed.
Words in these examples (31)
| 我 | wǒ | I; me | HSK 1 |
| 曾经 | céngjīng | once; already; former | HSK 5 |
| 在 | zài | to be at; at; in; (before a verb) in the middle of doing | HSK 1 |
| 住 | zhù | to live (somewhere); to stay | HSK 1 |
| 过 | guò | to cross; to pass; to spend (time); to celebrate | HSK 2 |
| 两 | liǎng | two (before a measure word) | HSK 1 |
| 年 | nián | year | HSK 1 |
| 虽然 | suīrán | although | HSK 2 |
| 遇到 | yùdào | to come across; to meet | HSK 3 |
| 了 | le | (particle marking a completed action or a change) | HSK 1 |
| 很 | hěn | very | HSK 1 |
| 多 | duō | many; much; (in questions) how | HSK 1 |
| 困难 | kùnnan | difficult; difficulty | HSK 4 |
| 他 | tā | he; him | HSK 1 |
| 始终 | shǐzhōng | from beginning to end; all along | HSK 5 |
| 没有 | méiyǒu | not have; there isn't; did not | HSK 1 |
| 放弃 | fàngqì | to give up | HSK 4 |
| 我们 | wǒmen | we; us | HSK 1 |
| 到 | dào | to arrive; to go to | HSK 1 |
| 的 | de | (particle linking a describer to a noun, like "'s") | HSK 1 |
| 时候 | shíhou | time; when (as in …的时候) | HSK 1 |
| 早已 | zǎoyǐ | for a long time; long since | HSK 5 |
| 离开 | líkāi | to leave | HSK 3 |
| 新 | xīn | new | HSK 1 |
| 学期 | xuéqī | term; semester | HSK 3 |
| 即将 | jíjiāng | about to; on the point of; soon | HSK 5 |
| 开始 | kāishǐ | to begin; to start | HSK 2 |
| 相信 | xiāngxìn | to believe | HSK 3 |
| 自己 | zìjǐ | oneself | HSK 2 |
| 能 | néng | can; to be able to | HSK 1 |
| 成功 | chénggōng | to succeed; success | HSK 4 |
Common mistakes
-
✗我曾经明天去。
✓我明天去。
曾经 is only for the past.
-
✗他始终放弃了。
✓他始终没有放弃。
始终 describes something unchanged; it’s usually with a continuing state or a negative.
Check yourself
Choose the word that fills the gap.
1. 他 是我的老师。
2. 会议 开始，请大家坐好。
3. 这件事他 知道了。