How to use 从来
从来 + 不 / 没(有) + Verb
从来 extends a negative statement across the relevant period of experience or habitual behavior. With 不, it commonly says that somebody never does something as a practice or principle. The adverb comes before the negative and the action phrase, giving the denial a broader scope than a single isolated occasion.
With 没 or 没有, the emphasis is that an event has never occurred. Experiential 过 often appears after the verb in that reading. The period under discussion may be a lifetime or a contextually defined stretch, so identify the intended scope. Shorter forms with 从 occur in familiar usage, but the full 从来 construction is a clear starting point for recognizing the distinction.
Examples with pinyin and English
她从来不喝酒。
She never drinks.
我女朋友从不给我打电话。
My girlfriend never calls me.
这个人很奇怪，他从来不笑。
This person is very strange. He never laughs.
你父母从来不打你吗？
Your parents never hit you?
你从来没有想过这个问题吗？
Have you never thought about this question?
What to remember
- Use 从来不 for habitual nonoccurrence.
- Use 从来没 for absent experience.
- 过 commonly follows the experiential verb.
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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.
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