\tWestern languages such as English have several ways to express tense. The most common are verb conjunctions which change the form of the verb depending on the time frame. For example, the English verb "eat" can be changed to "ate" for past actions and "eating" for current actions.<\/p>\n
\tMandarin Chinese does not have any verb conjugations. All verbs have a single form. For example, the verb for "eat" is \u5403 (ch\u012b), which can be used for the past, present, and future.<\/p>\n
\tDespite the lack of Mandarin verb conjugations, there are other ways to express timeframes in Mandarin Chinese.<\/p>\n
\tSTATE THE DATE
\tThe simplest way to clarify which tense you are speaking in is to directly state the time expression (like today, tomorrow, yesterday) as part of the sentence. In Chinese, this is usually at the beginning of the sentence. For example:<\/p>\n
\t\u6628\u5929\u6211\u5403\u8c6c\u8089\u3002
\t\u6628\u5929\u6211\u5403\u732a\u8089\u3002
\tZuóti\u0101n w\u01d2 ch\u012b zh\u016b ròu.
\tYesterday I ate pork.
\tOnce the timeframe is established, it is understood and can be omitted from the rest of the conversation.<\/p>\n
\tCOMPLETED ACTIONS
\tThe particle \u4e86 (le) is used to indicate that an action occurred in the past and has been completed. Like the time expression, it can be omitted once the timeframe has been established:<\/p>\n
\t(\u6628\u5929)\u6211\u5403\u8c6c\u8089\u4e86\u3002
\t(\u6628\u5929)\u6211\u5403\u732a\u8089\u4e86\u3002
\t(Zuóti\u0101n) w\u01d2 ch\u012b zh\u016b ròu le.
\t(Yesterday) I ate pork.
\tThe particle \u4e86 (le) can also be used for the immediate future, so be careful of its usage and be sure to understand both functions.<\/p>\n
\tPAST EXPERIENCE
\tWhen you have done something in the past, this action can be described with the verb-suffix \u904e \/ \u8fc7 (guò). For example, if you want to say that you have already seen the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (\u81e5\u864e\u85cf\u9f8d\/\u5367\u864e\u85cf\u9f99 – wò h\u01d4 cáng long), you can say:<\/p>\n
\t\u6211\u5df2\u7d93\u770b\u904e\u81e5\u864e\u85cf\u9f8d\uff61
\t\u6211\u5df2\u7ecf\u770b\u8fc7\u5367\u864e\u85cf\u9f99\uff61
\tW\u01d2 y\u01d0j\u012bng kàn guò wò h\u01d4 cáng long.<\/p>\n
\tUnlike the particle \u4e86 (le), the verb suffix guò (\u904e \/ \u8fc7) is used to talk about an unspecific past. If you want to say that you saw the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" yesterday, you would say:<\/p>\n
\t\u6628\u5929\u6211\u770b\u81e5\u864e\u85cf\u9f8d\u4e86\uff61
\t\u6628\u5929\u6211\u770b\u5367\u864e\u85cf\u9f99\u4e86\uff61
\tZuóti\u0101n w\u01d2 kàn wò h\u01d4 cáng lóng le.
\tCOMPLETED ACTIONS IN THE FUTURE
\tAs mentioned above, the particle \u4e86 (le) can be used for the future as well as the past. When used with a time expression such as \u660e\u5929 (míngt\u012ban – tomorrow), the meaning is similar to the English perfective. Take for instance:<\/p>\n
\t\u660e\u5929\u6211\u5c31\u4f1a\u53bb\u53f0\u5317\u4e86\uff61
\t\u660e\u5929\u6211\u5c31\u4f1a\u53bb\u53f0\u5317\u4e86\uff61
\tMíngti\u0101n w\u01d2 jiù huì qù Táib\u011bi le.
\tTomorrow I will have gone to Taipei.
\tThe near future is expressed with the combination of the particles \u8981 (yào – to intend); \u5c31 (jiù – right away); or \u5feb (kuài – soon) with the particle \u4e86 (le):<\/p>\n
\t\u6211\u8981\u53bb\u53f0\u5317\u4e86\uff61
\tW\u01d2 yào qù Táib\u011bi le.
\tI'm just going to Taipei.
\tCONTINUING ACTIONS
\tWhen an action is continuing to the present moment, the expressions \u6b63\u5728 (zhèngzài), \u6b63 (zhèng) or \u5728 (zài) can be used, along with the particle \u5462 (ne) at the end of the sentence. This can look something like:<\/p>\n
\t\u6211\u6b63\u5728\u5403\u98ef\u5462\uff61
\tW\u01d2 zhèngzài ch\u012bfàn ne.
\tI am eating.
\tor<\/p>\n
\t\u6211\u6b63\u5403\u98ef\u5462\uff61
\tW\u01d2 zhèng ch\u012bfàn ne.
\tI am eating.
\tor<\/p>\n
\t\u6211\u5728\u5403\u98ef\u5462\uff61
\tW\u01d2 zài ch\u012bfàn ne.
\tI am eating.
\tor<\/p>\n
\t\u6211\u5403\u98ef\u5462\uff61
\tW\u01d2 ch\u012bfàn ne.
\tI am eating.
\tThe continuative action phrase is negated with \u6ca1 (méi), and \u6b63\u5728 (zhèngzài) is omitted.<\/p>\n
\tThe \u5462 (ne), however, remains. For example:<\/p>\n
\t\u6211\u6ca1\u5403\u98ef\u5462\uff61
\tW\u01d2 méi ch\u012bfàn ne.
\tI am not eating.
\tMANDARIN CHINESE TENSES
\tIt is often said that Mandarin Chinese does not have any tenses. If "tenses" mean verb conjugation, this is true, since verbs in Chinese have an unchangeable form. However, as we can see in the above examples, there are many ways to express timeframes in Mandarin Chinese.<\/p>\n
\tThe main difference in terms of grammar between Mandarin Chinese and European languages is that once a timeframe has been established in Mandarin Chinese, there is no longer any need for precision. This means sentences are constructed in simple forms without verb endings or other qualifiers.<\/p>\n
\tWhen talking to a native Mandarin Chinese speaker, Westerners may get confused with this lack of continuous precision. But this confusion arises from the comparison between English (and other Western languages) and Mandarin Chinese.<\/p>\n
\tWestern languages require subject\/verb agreements, without which the language will be glaringly wrong. Compare this with Mandarin Chinese, in which a simple statement can be in any timeframe, or express a question, or be an answer.<\/p>\n