Subject + 以前 + Verb
Reach for this when you want to say something used to be true but is not anymore — 'I used to,' 'in the past,' 'back then.' 以前 sits before the verb (or before the subject if you want to set the time first) and signals that what follows is a former habit, state, or fact. There is no past-tense ending in Chinese, so 以前 is doing the time-stamping for you. Pair it with 现在 in the next clause to make the 'before vs. now' contrast explicit.
Structure
[SUBJECT] 以前 [VERB] [REST]。 / 以前 [SUBJECT] [VERB] [REST]。
yǐqián
How to Think About It
以前 is a time stamp, not a tense. Chinese verbs never bend, so you put 以前 in front of the action to flip the whole sentence into 'former-times' mode. The moment you remove 以前 or replace it with 现在, the same verb describes a different era — the verb itself never changes.
Examples
我以前不喜欢咖啡。
Wǒ yǐqián bù xǐhuan kāfēi.
I used to not like coffee.
以前这里是一片农田。
Yǐqián zhèlǐ shì yī piàn nóngtián.
This place used to be farmland.
他以前每天跑步，现在没时间了。
Tā yǐqián měitiān pǎobù, xiànzài méi shíjiān le.
He used to run every day; now he has no time.
Common Mistake
Learners attach 了 to mark past, thinking they need both. With 以前 describing a past habit or repeated state, 了 is usually wrong — 了 marks a single completed change, not a former routine.
我以前住了北京。
我以前住在北京。
Don't Confuse With
Verb + 过
过 marks 'has ever experienced' (我去过北京). 以前 sets the whole sentence in former times without saying whether it happened once or always.
Time + 以前 (e.g., 三年以前)
After a duration, 以前 means 'ago' — a specific point. Bare 以前 before a verb means 'in the past' in general.
Subject + 曾经 + Verb
曾经 is more written/formal and emphasizes 'once did' as a notable past event. 以前 is everyday speech for 'used to.'
Practice
Fill in the time word: 我 ___ 住在上海，现在住在北京。
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以前
Fill in the blank: 以前他 ___ 抽烟，去年戒了。(smoke)
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抽
Arrange into a sentence: 中文 / 学 / 我 / 以前 / 不
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我以前不学中文。
Translate to Chinese: She used to live in this neighborhood.
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她以前住在这个小区。
Write one sentence about a habit you had in the past but no longer do.
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我以前每天看电视，现在很少看了。
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode: