"他从来不喝酒。"
Translation:He never drinks alcohol.
12 Comments
I think the general meaning is the same, but note that when using perfect tense there should also be changes in the Chinese sentence. I.e. in your case, a better way to say it would be 他從來沒有喝過酒, where the 過 should correlate roughly with the meaning of "has"
Could anyone explain to me how 从来 means never? I know limited Chinese but it seems that would translate literally to "from come". Is it just an expression that needs to be accepted or is there some way to understand this? Thank you in advance :)
That's helpful, thank you :) I'm not sure, though, that thinking of it that way won't make me think of it as "always" instead of "never". Usually Chinese is very logical and simple in how it uses words which aids a great deal in memorization. This one stumped me though :)
从来, more specifically 从来都, actually does mean always. 从来不 means never, the 不 indicating the opposite meaning of 从来.
https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/%E4%BB%8E%E6%9D%A5
I think the third character (不) is also needed (i.e. 从来不 = never) https://chinese.yabla.com/chinese-english-pinyin-dictionary.php?define=cong+lai+bu
So does the 从来 have a difference in use from没有verb 过... When would one be used over the other
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@clintack At least in the app, the flag icon beside the comment icon lets you report problems. Duo has actually been pretty darned quick and responsive in adding alternative English translation I've suggested there. Give it a try. They email you when they make a related change.
