Tenses in Chinese: how to talk about the past, present and future

October 3, 2026 · 8 min read

Chinese has no tenses in the English sense: the verb never changes. There's no "ate", "eat", "will eat", no "-ed" and no "-s". When something happens is told by time words and by a handful of particles next to the verb. And those particles don't say "when", they say "how": the action is finished, it's going on right now, or it has happened at least once in your life.

How many tenses does Chinese have?

Grammatical tenses: none. A verb or an adjective looks the same whether you talk about yesterday, today or tomorrow. In the three sentences below, the word 忙 "busy" doesn't change; only the time word does. English has to switch between "was", "are" and "will be"; Chinese doesn't even need a verb "to be" here.

• 昨天我非常忙zuótiānwǒfēichángmángI was very busy yesterday.
• 你现在忙吗？nǐxiànzàimángmaAre you busy now?
• 明天我不忙míngtiānwǒbùmángI'm not busy tomorrow.

So the question "how do I say this in the past tense?" works differently in Chinese. Ask yourself what exactly you want to say about the action. That it happened yesterday? Then the word "yesterday" is enough. That it was completed, that it's in progress, that you've had that experience? That's what the particles are for.

Time words: the simplest way

Name the time and the sentence is clear. One rule English speakers need to unlearn: the time word goes before the verb, either right after the subject or at the very start. English puts it at the end ("I'm going to Beijing tomorrow"); Chinese never does. More on this in the article on word order.

• 昨天zuótiānyesterday
• 今天jīntiāntoday
• 明天míngtiāntomorrow
• 现在xiànzàinow
• 去年qùniánlast year
• 明年míngniánnext year
• 以前yǐqiánbefore, in the past
• 以后yǐhòulater, after

• 当时我还是学生dāngshíwǒháishìxuéshengAt that time I was still a student.
• 我明天去外地出差wǒmíngtiānqùwàidìchūchāiTomorrow I'm going out of town on a business trip.

了: the action is done, or things have changed

了 is the particle most often mistaken for a past tense, the Chinese "-ed". It isn't. 了 has two meanings, and neither of them is about "when".

First: 了 right after the verb means the action has been carried through. Usually it comes with what or how much: bought three apples, forgot the name.

• 你买了什么？nǐmǎileshénmeWhat did you buy?
• 我忘了他的名字wǒwàngletādemíngziI forgot his name.

Second: 了 at the end of the sentence means things are different now. You weren't hungry and now you are; it was warm and it got cold; class was on and now it's over. English often says this with "now", "get" or "become".

• 我饿了。wǒèleI'm hungry (now).
• 天气变冷了。tiānqìbiànlěngleIt's gotten cold.
• 下课了！xiàkèleClass is over!

没: "didn't", "haven't"

If an action didn't happen, put 没有 méiyǒu — didn't, haven't or just 没 before the verb and drop 了: nothing was completed, so there's nothing to mark. "Not yet" is 还没.

• 我没有买苹果。wǒméiyǒumǎipíngguǒI didn't buy apples.
• 我还没买机票wǒháiméimǎijīpiàoI haven't bought the plane ticket yet.
• 你为什么没来nǐwèishénmeméiláiWhy didn't you come?

不 bù — not is for everything else: "I don't usually", "I don't want to", "I won't". 他今天不上班 is "he's not working today", and that's about his plans, not about something left undone.

过: "have ever done"

过 after a verb talks about experience: this has happened in your life at least once. When exactly doesn't matter. The closest English match is "have ever done", as in "Have you ever been to China?". It's read with the neutral tone: guo. In the negative 过 stays, and 没 goes before the verb: "have never".

• 我去过中国。wǒqùguoZhōngguóI've been to China.
• 你去过中国吗？nǐqùguoZhōngguómaHave you ever been to China?
• 我没吃过饺子。wǒméichīguojiǎoziI've never had dumplings.

The difference from 了 is easy to see with the verb "go". 他去了中国: he went to China, the action happened, and most likely he's there now. 他去过中国: he has been to China, he has the experience, and he's already back. English makes the same split with "he's gone to China" and "he's been to China".

在 and 正在: the "-ing" of Chinese

在 zài — to be at; in before a verb means the action is in progress, much like English "be + -ing". 正在 is the same with more emphasis: "right now", "in the middle of". In speech 呢 is often added at the end.

• 他正在打电话tāzhèngzàidǎdiànhuàHe's on the phone right now.
• 妈妈在做饭呢māmazàizuòfànneMom's cooking.
• 我正在吃饭呢。wǒzhèngzàichīfànneI'm eating right now.

This isn't a "present tense" either: with a time word the same construction describes what was going on at some moment in the past, like "was doing". And unlike English, a regular, repeated action never takes 在: 我每天早上跑步 is "I run every morning", not "I'm running every morning".

着: a state that lasts

着 after a verb describes not a process but a state of affairs that holds: the door is open, a picture hangs on the wall, someone is wearing glasses. 在 is about what people are doing; 着 is about how things are right now.

• 门开着。ménkāizheThe door is open.
• 他戴着眼镜。tādàizheyǎnjìngHe's wearing glasses.
• 墙上挂着一幅画。qiángshangguàzheyìfúhuàThere's a painting hanging on the wall.

The future: 要, 会, 打算

Often a time word is enough: 我明天一定来, "I'll definitely come tomorrow". When you need to say what kind of future it is, one of three words goes before the verb. They line up well with English.

• 要 yào — "going to", "need to": the decision has been made.
• 会 huì — "will": a prediction or a promise. Negative: 不会, "won't".
• 打算 dǎsuàn — "plan to".

• 我要去银行换钱。wǒyàoqùyínhánghuànqiánI'm going to the bank to change money.
• 也许明天会下雨。yěxǔmíngtiānhuìxiàyǔIt might rain tomorrow.
• 我觉得他明天不会来。wǒjuédetāmíngtiānbúhuìláiI don't think he'll come tomorrow.
• 你们打算待几天？nǐmendǎsuàndāijǐtiānHow many days are you planning to stay?

"About to happen" is the frame 快要…了 or 就要…了: the action in the middle, 了 at the end.

• 飞机快要飞了。fēijīkuàiyàofēileThe plane is about to take off.
• 明天我就要回国了。míngtiānwǒjiùyàohuíguóleTomorrow I'm going back to my country.