Before I came to Beijing, I worked in Shanghai.

　　在我来北京之前，我在上海工作。

　　A How long have you lived in Beijing?

　　A 你在北京住多久了？

　　B I’ve been living and working in Beijing for seven years.

　　B 我在北京生活、工作已经七年了。

　　A And before that?

　　A 在那之前呢？

　　B Before I came to Beijing, I worked in Shanghai.

　　B 在来北京之前，我在上海工作。

　　A Are you from Shanghai?

　　A 你是上海人吗？

　　B Yes, I was born there and went to university there.

　　B 是的，我出生在那里，又在那里读的大学。

　　Notes 注释

　　1 When you ask about something that started in the past but continues to the present time, you use the Present Perfect tense, e.g.: How long have you lived in Beijing? / How long have you lived in Beijing?; I have been here for seven years / I have been here for seven years.

　　当你谈论从过去开始一直持续到现在的某件事时，用现在完成法时态。例如：How long have you lived in Beijing? / 你在北京住了多久了?；I have been here for seven years /我在这里已经七年了。

　　2 If you are talking about something that is completely in the past, you use the Past Tense (sometimes called the Imperfect), e.g.: Before I came to Beijing, I worked in Shanghai / Before I came to Beijing I worked in Shanghai.

　　如果谈论的事情完全发生在过去，则用过去时态(有时也叫做未完成时态)，例如：Before I came to Beijing, I worked in Shanghai /在来北京之前，我在上海工作。

　　3Usually when you talk about your birthplace or year of birth, you use the Past Tense, e.g.: I was born in Shanghai / I was born in Shanghai; I was born in 1977 / I was born in 1977.

　　在谈论出生地或者出生年份时，通常用过去时态，例如：I was born in Shanghai / 我出生在上海； I was born in 1977 /我出生在1977年。

Key phrases and sentences   How long have you lived in Beijing? I’ve been living and working in Beijing for seven years. And before that? Before I came to Beijing, I worked in Shanghai. Are you from Shanghai? Yes, I was born there and went to university there.

重要的短语和句子   你在北京住多久了？   我在北京生活、工作已经七年了。   在那之前呢？ 在来北京之前，我在上海工作。 你是上海人吗？ 是的，我出生在那里，又在那里读的大学。