Structure with 以来

Structure:

Time or Event + 以来

Meaning:

To express “ever since”, all one needs to do is put “以来” (yǐlái) after a specific event or time. It expresses what has happened since the event spoken until the time that the speaker talks (in other words, referring to a certain time period).

Examples:

    到 上海 以来 ，他 的 汉语 水平 提高 了。

    Dào shànɡ hǎi yǐ lái , tā de hàn yǔ shuǐ pínɡ tí ɡāo le

    Ever since he came to Shanghai, his Chinese has been improving.

Form with 自, 从 or 自从

Structure:

自 / 从 / 自从 + Time or Event + 以来

Meaning:

When you need to use 以来 in a more formal or written context, you can add 自, 从 or 自从 (or other similar words) before the time or event

Examples:

    自从 我 拿到 驾照 以来 已经 有 五 年 了。

    Zìcónɡ wǒ ná dào jià zhào yǐ lái yǐ jīnɡ yǒu wǔ nián le

    I’ve had my license for five years.

Structure with 来

Structure:

Time interval + 来

Meaning:

Using 来 to mean “ever since” is basically the same as “以来”, however, there is one key difference: you can only use 来 after a time interval. In other words, it needs to be used with a certain number of years, months, days, hours etc. In English this would be like saying “ever since three days ago, I have constantly had a headache.” It doesn’t have to be a specific number either, it could be “a few” (几).

Examples:

    五 年 来，物价 一直 上涨。

    Wǔ nián lái , wù jià yì zhí shànɡ zhǎnɡ

    Ever since five years ago, prices have been going up.