zh-grammar/docs/allsetlearning/A2/一直.md

Expressing "all along" with "一直"

• 我 一直 在 学习 中文 。
  • I've been studying Chinese all along.
• 昨天 晚上 我 一直 在 做作业。
  • Yesterday evening I was continuously doing homework.
• 老板 一直 很 忙 。
  • The boss is always very busy.
• 我 一直 很 喜欢 你。
  • I've always liked you a lot.
• 爸爸 一直 都 不 抽烟。
  • Dad has never smoked cigarettes.
• 我 男朋友 一直在 中国 教 英文。
  • My boyfriend has always been teaching English in China.
• 18 岁 以后 ， 他 一直 一个人 住。
  • Since he was 18, he has always lived alone.
• 你 一直 在 这 家 公司 工作 吗？
  • Have you always worked in this company?
• 你们 一直 住 在 一起 吗？
  • Have you always been living together?
• 北京 的 空气 一直 很 不 好。
  • The air in Beijing has been bad for a while.

• Level: A2 / HSK3
• Similar to
  • Expressing "always" with "总是" (A2)
  • Expressing "since the beginning" with "一向" (B2)
  • Comparing "不断" and "不停" (C1)
  • Comparing "一直" and "一向" (C1)
  • Expressing "again and again" with "一再" (C1)
• Used for: Describing actions, Referring to habitual actions, Expressing frequency, Expressing time and date
• Keywords: 一直

一直 (yīzhí) literally means "straight." Used as an adverb, 一直 (yīzhí) can also be used to express that you have been doing something all along, have been continuously doing something since a certain time, or that something will continuously happen in the future.

Structure

This structure expresses the continuous nature of an action or a circumstance.

Subj. + 一直 + Predicate

Also note that although 一直 (yīzhí) means "continuously," it is frequently more natural to use the word "always" in the English translation.

Examples

• 我 一直 在 学习 中文 。
  • I've been studying Chinese all along.
• 昨天 晚上 我 一直 在 做作业。
  • Yesterday evening I was continuously doing homework.
• 老板 一直 很 忙 。
  • The boss is always very busy.
• 我 一直 很 喜欢 你。
  • I've always liked you a lot.
• 爸爸 一直 都 不 抽烟。
  • Dad has never smoked cigarettes.
• 我 男朋友 一直在 中国 教 英文。
  • My boyfriend has always been teaching English in China.
• 18 岁 以后 ， 他 一直 一个人 住。
  • Since he was 18, he has always lived alone.
• 你 一直 在 这 家 公司 工作 吗？
  • Have you always worked in this company?
• 你们 一直 住 在 一起 吗？
  • Have you always been living together?
• 北京 的 空气 一直 很 不 好。
  • The air in Beijing has been bad for a while.

See also

• "Always" with "总是"
• "Since the beginning" with "一向"
• Comparing "一直" and "一向"

Sources and further reading

Books

• 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (pp. 610) [ →buy]
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 308-9) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级) (pp. 123) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

Dictionaries

• 现代汉语词典（第5版） (p. 1601) →buy