2 · Adverbs that carry the grammar
Already and once: yǐjīng and céngjīng
a state reached, and an experience in the past
Yǐjīng with le says something is done by now; céngjīng with guo says it happened once and is over.
已经 means “already”. It stands before the verb and almost always has 了 at the end, because it reports that a point has been reached: 我已经吃饭了, “I have already eaten”. The result counts now. It works without a verb too, before a time or an age: 已经十点了, “it’s already ten o’clock”.
曾经 means “once, at one time”. It looks at something in the past that is over and done, and it pairs with 过: 她曾经在北京住过, “she once lived in Beijing” — and she does not live there now. 曾经 is a little formal; in everyday speech 过 alone often does the job.
The negative of 已经 is the trap. “I haven’t eaten yet” is not 已经没 but 还没: 我还没吃饭. 已经 with 不 does exist, but it means “no longer”: 他已经不在这儿工作了, “he doesn’t work here any more”.
The form
| already | 我已经吃饭了。 |
| already, with an age | 他已经三十岁了。 |
| once, in the past | 她曾经在北京住过。 |
| no longer | 我已经不住在那儿了。 |
| not yet | 我还没吃饭。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
已经 … 了: something is done by now, or a point has been reached.
飞机已经起飞了。The plane has already taken off.
曾经 … 过: something happened at one time in the past and is over.
我曾经学过日语。I once studied Japanese.
The negative of 已经 is 还没, “not yet”.
作业我还没写完。I haven’t finished my homework yet.
已经不 … 了 means “no longer”.
他已经不在这儿工作了。He no longer works here.
A closer look
Why céngjīng is rarer than “once”
English needs “once” or “used to” to place something in a finished past. Chinese already has 过 for that, so 我去过西安 is complete without 曾经. Adding 曾经 gives the sentence weight and a touch of storytelling — the kind of “once” that implies things are different now.
In writing the shorter form 曾 is common: 他曾在国外工作多年, “he worked abroad for many years”. The negative is never built on 曾经 itself; it is 没…过, or 从来没…过 for “never”.
How to spot it
- 已经…了
- 曾经…过
- 还没
- 已经不…了
Example sentences
我到的时候，他们已经走了。By the time I arrived, they had already left.
天已经黑了，我们回家吧。It’s already dark — let’s go home.
他曾经是一名老师。He was once a teacher.
这本书我已经看了一半了。I’ve already read half of this book.
我爷爷曾经在海边住过十年。My grandfather once lived by the sea for ten years.
现在已经十二月了。It’s already December.
7 more example sentences
她的病已经好了。She has already recovered.
我已经告诉他了。I’ve already told him.
他们曾经是很好的朋友。They were once very good friends.
这里曾经有一座老桥。There was once an old bridge here.
票已经卖完了。The tickets have already sold out.
我已经习惯这儿的天气了。I’ve got used to the weather here by now.
我曾经考虑过出国留学。At one time I thought about going abroad to study.
Worth knowing (1)
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Already, without a verb
已经 can stand directly before a time, a date or an age, with 了 at the end and no verb at all. The sentence says that this point has been reached, and often that it came sooner than one would think.
我奶奶已经九十岁了。My grandmother is ninety now.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English pairs “already” and “yet” as if they were the positive and negative of one word, so learners build a negative with 已经. Chinese does not: 已经 belongs to positive sentences, and “not yet” is 还没, often with 呢 at the end.
Yǐjīng with le is already and still true now; céngjīng with guo is once, and over.
Your turn
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