No Verb Conjugation: How Mandarin Shows Time Without Tenses

One of the great news items for Mandarin learners: verbs never change form. There's no "go, goes, went, gone", no person or number agreement. 去 (qù) is always 去.

One form for everything

• 我去。 (Wǒ qù.) — I go / I'm going / I went (depending on context)
• 他去。 (Tā qù.) — He goes / He went
• 我们去。 (Wǒmen qù.) — We go

Time words do the work

Instead of changing the verb, Mandarin adds time words:

• 昨天我去了。 (Zuótiān wǒ qù le.) — I went yesterday.
• 今天我去。 (Jīntiān wǒ qù.) — I'm going today.
• 明天我去。 (Míngtiān wǒ qù.) — I'll go tomorrow.

Once a time word has been established in a conversation, you often don't need to repeat it.

Aspect particles

Instead of tense, Mandarin marks the shape of an action:

• 了 (le) — completed: 我吃了。 (I've eaten.)
• 过 (guo) — experienced at some point: 我去过中国。 (Wǒ qù guo Zhōngguó.) — I have been to China.
• 着 (zhe) — continuing state: 门开着。 (Mén kāi zhe.) — The door is open.
• 在 (zài) — in progress: 我在吃饭。 (Wǒ zài chī fàn.) — I'm eating.
• 正在 (zhèngzài) — right now: 他正在开会。 (Tā zhèngzài kāihuì.) — He's in a meeting right now.

Future markers

Mandarin often uses 会 (huì) or 要 (yào) for the future:

• 明天会下雨。 (Míngtiān huì xià yǔ.) — It will rain tomorrow.
• 我要去北京。 (Wǒ yào qù Běijīng.) — I'm going to Beijing / I want to go.
• 我们就要到了。 (Wǒmen jiù yào dào le.) — We're about to arrive.

Words for "already", "still", "soon"

• 已经 (yǐjīng) — already
• 还 (hái) — still
• 刚 (gāng) — just now
• 快 (kuài) — soon
• 一直 (yìzhí) — all along
• 常常 (chángcháng) — often

Plural and number

Nouns don't have plural forms either, and verbs don't agree with their subjects. The number is clear from numbers or context.

Why this is easier — and trickier

There are fewer forms to memorise, but you need to pay attention to word order, time words and particles. Learners used to tenses may have to retrain their thinking about "when" versus "how" an event happens.

Practice

1. Tell the same sentence in three time settings using time words.
2. Practise 了, 过 and 着 with your own experiences.
3. Use 在 to describe what people are doing now.
4. Look up example sentences in a dictionary.

Look up verbs and time words with English Chinese Dictionary →