9.3 Time Adverbs

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We can use time adverbs to indicate the time when an activity happens. Here are some common time adverbs:

1.	以前	ji5 cin4	before (usually at a much earlier time)
2.	之前	zi1 cin4	before
3.	而家 / 宜家	ji4 gaa1	now
3.	依家	ji1 gaa1	now
4.	遲啲	ci4 di1	later
5.	之後	zi1 hau6	later, in the future

We put a time adverb before the verb of the activity, like we put other adverbs before the verb we want to modify.

我而家學緊廣東話。
ngo5 ji4 gaa1 hok6 gan2 gwong2 dung1 waa2.
I am learning Cantonese now.

If the sentence has a prepositional phrase, we can put the time adverb before the prepositional phrase.

我之前喺香港做嘢。
ngo5 zi1 cin4 hai2 hoeng1 gong2 zou6 je5.
I worked in Hong Kong before.