Vocabulary | Phrases | Grammar |
This is a list of verbs in the past tense in Cantonese. First let's start with the raw format before conjugating the verbs to the past form. Make sure to compare this table and the one below it.
| To see: 睇 dì |
To write: 寫 xiě |
To love: 愛／鍾意 ài/zhōng yì |
To give: 俾 bǐ |
| To play: 玩 wán |
To read: 讀 dú |
To understand: 明白／理解 míngbái/lǐjiě |
To have: 有 yǒu |
| To know: 知道 zhīdào |
To learn: 學 xué |
To think: 諗 shěn |
To work: 做野 zuò yě |
| To speak: 講 jiǎng |
To drive: 揸車 zhā chē |
To smile: 笑 xiào |
To find: 揾 wèn |
These samples show how the verbs above are conjugated in the past tense in a sentence which includes all the object pronouns (I, you, she...).
| I saw you: 我（之前）見過你 wǒ (zhīqián) jiànguò nǐ |
I wrote with a pen: 我（以前）用枝筆寫字。 wǒ (yǐqián) yòng zhī bǐ xiě zì. |
| You loved apples: 你（以前）鍾意蘋果 Nǐ (yǐqián) zhōng yì píngguǒ |
You gave money: 你（以前）俾過錢 nǐ (yǐqián) bǐguò qián |
| You played tennis: 你（以前）打過網球 nǐ (yǐqián) dǎguò wǎngqiú |
He read (past) a book: 佢（以前）睇過本書 qú (yǐqián) dìguò běnshū |
| He understood me: 佢（以前）明白我 qú (yǐqián) míngbái wǒ |
She had a cat: 佢（以前）有隻貓 qú (yǐqián) yǒu zhī māo |
| She knew my friend: 佢（以前）識我嘅朋友 qú (yǐqián) shí wǒ kǎi péngyǒu |
We wanted to learn: 我哋（以前）想學 wǒ diè (yǐqián) xiǎng xué |
| We thought Spanish is easy: 我哋（以前）覺得西班牙文好易 wǒ diè (yǐqián) juédé xībānyá wén hǎo yì |
You (plural) worked here: 你哋（以前）喺度做野 nǐ diè (yǐqián) xì dù zuò yě |
| You (plural) spoke French: 你哋（以前）講法文 nǐ diè (yǐqián) jiǎngfǎ wén |
They drove a car: 佢哋（以前）揸車 qú diè (yǐqián) zhā chē |
| They smiled: 佢哋（以前）笑 qú diè (yǐqián) xiào |
After the past tense in Cantonese, make sure to check the other tenses (present, and future), which we hope you enjoyed. You can also choose your own topic from the menu above.
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