课程 → Level 4 · 时态与语气 → 课 3
Level 4 · Lesson 3 不去和没去
不去 and 没去
我不吃肉。昨天我没去。
不 for a habit, an intention or the future; 没 for one event that did not happen.
听 · Listen
你迟到了
Li Ming, you're late today.
Sorry, teacher. I'm not always late.
You didn't come yesterday either.
Yesterday I didn't come, but today I have.
Sometimes you come, sometimes you don't.
Teacher, I won't be late tomorrow.
Good. I'm usually in the classroom at eight.
Eight tomorrow morning, I'll be in the classroom!
讲解 · Explanation
我不吃肉。明天我不去。我不迟到。
不 is about the kind of person you are and the kind of thing you intend. 我不吃肉 says you are not a meat eater — not last year, not today, not next year. 明天我不去 is a decision about tomorrow. So 不 covers habit, willingness and the future, and it always stands directly before the verb.
昨天我没去。我没吃早饭。他没来。
没 is about one particular event that did not take place. 昨天我没去 does not say you dislike going; it reports that on that day, the going did not happen. This is also why 没 cannot talk about tomorrow: an event still ahead of you cannot yet be reported as not having happened. For tomorrow you need 不.
我不去。我没去。
Two quick tests. The time word: 常常, 总是, 今天, 明天 pull 不; 昨天 and 刚才 pull 没. The meaning: 我不去 is a refusal or a habit, 我没去 is a report. One last reminder from the last lesson — 有 is never negated with 不; it is 没有, always.
生词 · Vocabulary
| 词 | Meaning | 注 · Note |
|---|---|---|
| 常常 | often | before the verb: 我常常去 |
| 总是 | always | 我总是七点起床 |
| 有时候 | sometimes | 有时候…，有时候… |
| 时候 | time, moment | the noun inside 有时候 |
| 迟到 | to be late, arrive late | 上课迟到 shàngkè chídào |
练习 · Practice
用一用 · Use it
我常常七点吃早饭。我不吃肉。昨天我没去公园。明天我不迟到！
Say four sentences aloud, in this order. One habit with 常常 or 总是. One thing you never do, with 不. One thing that did not happen yesterday, with 没. One promise about tomorrow, with 不. Then say the pair 我不去 / 我没去 twice over and hear the difference: the first is a decision, the second is a report.