Past Tense & Stories — Building Blocks

What you will learn

Learn to talk about what happened in the past in Cantonese. Master the key aspect markers 咗, 過, and 嗰陣 to tell stories about your weekend, holidays, and memorable experiences.

Use 咗 to mark completed actions
Use 過 to express past experiences
Tell a simple story in chronological order
Use time markers for past events

Dialogue

Conversation

A

你上個週末做咗啲咩呀？

nei5 soeng6 go3 zau1 mut6 zou6 zo2 di1 me1 aa3?

What did you do last weekend?

B

我同朋友去咗行山，好好玩呀！

ngo5 tung4 pang4 jau5 heoi3 zo2 haang4 saan1, hou2 hou2 waan2 aa3!

I went hiking with friends, it was so fun!

A

去咗邊度行呀？

heoi3 zo2 bin1 dou6 haang4 aa3?

Where did you go hiking?

B

去咗大帽山。行咗成四個鐘先到山頂。

heoi3 zo2 daai6 mou6 saan1. haang4 zo2 seng4 sei3 go3 zung1 sin1 dou3 saan1 deng2.

We went to Tai Mo Shan. It took a full four hours to reach the summit.

A

嘩，好攰呀！你以前去過未呀？

waa3, hou2 gui6 aa3! nei5 ji5 cin4 heoi3 gwo3 mei6 aa3?

Wow, so tiring! Have you been there before?

B

去過一次，嗰陣落雨睇唔到風景。

heoi3 gwo3 jat1 ci3, go2 zan6 lok6 jyu5 tai2 m4 dou2 fung1 ging2.

Once before, but that time it rained and we could not see the scenery.

A

咁今次天氣好唔好呀？

gam2 gam1 ci3 tin1 hei3 hou2 m4 hou2 aa3?

So was the weather good this time?

B

好好呀！影咗好多靚相，遲啲畀你睇。

hou2 hou2 aa3! jing2 zo2 hou2 do1 leng3 soeng2, ci4 di1 bei2 nei5 tai2.

Very good! We took lots of nice photos, I will show you later.

Vocabulary

Key Words & Phrases

上個週末

soeng6 go3 zau1 mut6

last weekend

尋日

cam4 jat6

yesterday

舊年

gau6 nin4

last year

嗰陣

go2 zan6

at that time

以前

ji5 cin4

before / in the past

行山

haang4 saan1

hiking

山頂

saan1 deng2

summit / The Peak

風景

fung1 ging2

scenery

影相

jing2 soeng2

take photos

靚相

leng3 soeng2

nice photos

好好玩

hou2 hou2 waan2

very fun

落雨

lok6 jyu5

raining

Grammar

Language Patterns

verb + 咗 (completed action)

Adding 咗 (zo2) after a verb marks a completed action, similar to past tense. It indicates the action is done. This is the most essential past marker in Cantonese.

我食咗飯。

ngo5 sik6 zo2 faan6.

I have eaten.

佢走咗。

keoi5 zau2 zo2.

He has left.

verb + 過 (past experience)

Adding 過 (gwo3) after a verb means you have experienced doing something at least once. It focuses on the experience rather than a specific completed event.

你去過日本未？

nei5 heoi3 gwo3 jat6 bun2 mei6?

Have you been to Japan?

我食過呢間餐廳。

ngo5 sik6 gwo3 ni1 gaan1 caan1 teng1.

I have eaten at this restaurant before.

嗰陣 / 嗰時 (at that time)

嗰陣 (go2 zan6) or 嗰時 (go2 si4) means "at that time" and is used to set the scene when telling stories about the past.

嗰陣我仲細個。

go2 zan6 ngo5 zung6 sai3 go3.

At that time I was still young.

嗰陣天氣好凍。

go2 zan6 tin1 hei3 hou2 dung3.

The weather was very cold at that time.

成 + number (a full / as much as)

成 (seng4) before a number emphasizes that the amount is large or surprising, meaning "a full" or "as much as".

等咗成一個鐘。

dang2 zo2 seng4 jat1 go3 zung1.

Waited a full hour.

行咗成五公里。

haang4 zo2 seng4 ng5 gung1 lei5.

Walked a full five kilometres.

Practice

Test Your Knowledge

Fill_blank · Question 1

我尋日去 ___ 睇戲。 (completed action marker)

咗
過
緊
到

Answer

咗

Translate · Question 2

Have you been to Tai Mo Shan before?

Answer

你去過大帽山未？

Choice · Question 3

What does 嗰陣 mean?

at that time
right now
next time
every time

Answer

at that time

Fill_blank · Question 4

我哋行咗 ___ 四個鐘。 (a full)

成
有
好
太

Answer

成

Translate · Question 5

I took lots of nice photos yesterday.

Answer

我尋日影咗好多靚相。

Learn to talk about what happened in the past in Cantonese. Master the key aspect markers 咗, 過, and 嗰陣 to tell stories about your weekend, holidays, and memorable experiences.

Conversation

Key Words & Phrases

Language Patterns

verb + 咗 (completed action)

verb + 過 (past experience)

嗰陣 / 嗰時 (at that time)

成 + number (a full / as much as)

Test Your Knowledge

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