In Chinese, verbs are not conjugated in the way they are in other languages. This characteristic greatly simplifies grammar, since verbs in Chinese are characters that maintain their unaltered form. To express the verb tense, complements or particles are added that modify the verb and clarify its time.

Past

The past is generally indicated by adding the particle 了 [le] after the verb or at the end of the sentence, which indicates that the action has concluded or that there has been a change. Another option is to use the particle 过 [guò], especially when referring to a past experience or event. Generally, 了 [le] is used with verbs that indicate a concrete action.

Future

In Chinese, there are different forms to express future tense. One of the most common is placing the character 会 [huì] before the verb. 会 [huì] is mainly used to indicate actions that are supposed to happen in the future. However, it is important to note that 会 [huì] can also mean "have the ability to" do something. Therefore, its interpretation as a future action or ability depends on the context in which it is used.

Another form of expressing the future is using the character 要 [yào], which has a more imperative tone, suggesting that the future action is more definite or necessary. Similarly, one can use 想 [xiǎng], which expresses a desire or intention to perform an action in the future, but with less certainty that it will actually occur.

In addition, simply including a time reference in the sentence, like 明天 [míngtiān] "tomorrow", can be sufficient to indicate the future, even without the use of 会 [huì] or other particles.

There are other ways to express the future, like using 之后 [zhīhòu] "after", but we will explore them in detail in future lessons.