How to use 以来
Time / Event + 以来 ，⋯⋯
以来 marks a stretch of time beginning at a past point and continuing to the present or another established reference time. Place it after the starting date or event, then explain what has happened across that period. The following clause may describe accumulated changes, repeated events, or something that has remained true throughout.
从 or 自从 can introduce the starting point before the 以来 phrase. The shorter 来 also describes a period extending up to the reference time, but normally follows a duration such as a number of years or months. Distinguish the starting event from the length of the period when deciding which structure to use.
Examples with pinyin and English
今年八月以来，这里一直没下过雨。
It hasn't rained since August of this year.
结婚以来，我们没吵过架。
Since we got married we haven't had a fight.
上大学以来，他变了很多。
Since starting college, he's changed a lot.
从他爸爸去世以来，他就没有回过家。
He hasn't returned home since his father passed away.
What to remember
- 以来 follows a starting point or event.
- Duration + 来 means over that period.
- 一直 can emphasize continuity.
Practise the pattern
Practise this topic with the app’s grammar exercises. Your answers and review dates are saved separately from vocabulary practice.
Practise this grammar topic ↗Look up the grammar words
Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
Difficulty labels describe the level of the explanation; they are not official HSK placement. Send a correction with this page’s URL.