How to Say ‘I used to be an English teacher.’ in Traditional Chinese
我以前是英文老師。
wǒ yǐ qián shì yīng wén lǎo shī
[wo yǐqián shir Yīngwén lǎoshī]
Phrase Breakdown
我以前
wǒ yǐ qián
I, previously
以前 placed after the subject sets the time in the past.
我以前不喝咖啡。
I didn't drink coffee before.
Words in this phrase
我
wǒ
[wo]
I; me
The first-person pronoun used to talk about yourself.
我想多了解你們公司的制度，所以先自我介紹。
I want to learn more about your company’s system, so I’ll introduce myself first.
以前
yǐ qián
[yǐqián]
before
Placed after a time to mean 'before/by that time'.
中午以前要付款。
Payment is due before noon.
是英文老師。
shì yīng wén lǎo shī
was an English teacher
是 (be) + 英文 (English) + 老師 (teacher). Chinese verbs don't change for past tense.
她是中文老師。
She is a Chinese teacher.
Words in this phrase
是
shì
[shir]
to be; am/is/are
是 is the verb 'to be' used for identity, emphasis, or agreement.
我也是剛畢業的新鮮人。
I am also a recent graduate.
英文
yīng wén
[Yīngwén]
English (language)
The English language.
我在學英文。
I'm learning English.
老師
lǎo shī
[lǎoshī]
teacher
A person who teaches; also used as a respectful title.
老師，新年好！
Happy New Year, teacher!
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