# the past two days, the past year



## electricusa

How would you say "the past two days" or "the past year"?  前两天 means two days ago not the past few days right?


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## Skatinginbc

去年 = last year (the previous calender year) or 过去的一年 the past year (a period of one year before the present day).  
 前年 = the year before last. 
 一年前 = one year ago.

(过去的)这两天 = the past two days.
前两天 = a couple days ago  
两天前 = two days ago.


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## electricusa

Skatinginbc said:


> 去年 = last year (the previous calender year) or 过去的一年 the past year (a period of one year before the present day).
> 前年 = the year before last.
> 一年前 = one year ago.
> 
> (过去的)这两天 = the past two days.
> 前两天 = a couple days ago
> 两天前 = two days ago.




is there a difference between 前两天and 两天前？


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## Skatinginbc

两天前 is exactly "two days ago".  前两天 is ambiguous.  It means 1) "a couple of days  ago", which is approximately two days ago and synonymous with "the other  day" 日前, "a few days ago" 前几天 and "several days ago" 前些天, or 2) 之前的两天 "for a couple of days before a specified time".  The latter often involves the use of 都 (e.g., 我大考前两天都无法安眠 I couldn't sleep for a couple of days before the entrance exam".


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## SuperXW

electricusa said:


> 【1】How would you say "the past two days" or 【2】"the past year"? 【3】前两天 means two days ago not the past few days right?


【1】前两天,过去的两天
【2】去年,过去的一年
【3】前两天 can mean either "the past two days" or "the past few days". It's ambiguous. If you want to be precise, say 过去的两天.
【4】To be accurate, 前两天 is not equal to 两天前. 前两天: the past two or several days; 两天前: two days ago.


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## Youngfun

Interesting. I've always thought 前两天 = 前天+昨天


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## Skatinginbc

Youngfun said:


> I've always thought 前两天 = 前天+昨天


I would have imagined that 前两天 = 今天之前的两天 = 昨天 + 前天.  It turns out that in daily conversations 前两天 usually means "the other day" (e.g., 前两天我在报纸看到这条消息), which doesn't mean both 昨天 and 前天.


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## xiaolijie

electricusa said:


> 前两天 means two days ago not the past few days right?



前两天 can mean any of the following:
_- in the past two days
- two days ago
- in the past few days
- a few days ago/ the other day_
Therefore,  the context is needed to know which one is really meant, and questions without context may confuse you further. 
(It can also mean something else in addition to the listed above, but I must save you the confusion! )


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## retrogradedwithwind

very interesting.

I think 前两天 is the most common word to refer to a time point of the near past. Of course, it has other meanings as listed above.
前两天+ 做了某事（did something) is the most common collocation.

Usually, in Chinese 两 means two or several(around two), as with 两三（个），三四，三五， etc。


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## Skatinginbc

retrogradedwithwind said:


> 前两天 is the most common word to refer to a *time point *of the near past. Of course, it has other meanings as listed above.


Exactly.  That's what I have been trying to emphasize: 前两天 usually, though not always, refers to a point of time (e.g., "the other day") rather than to a period of time (e.g., "in the past two days").  If it refers to a period of time, it is often followed by 都 (前两天都...).


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## Youngfun

Because I say 前几天 to intend "the other day", but that may be dialect interference.


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## retrogradedwithwind

Yes, 前几天， together with 这几天 这两天, is also very common. I can't tell which one of the four is more common.

Here 两=几（ around two), 这两天=这几天， 前两天=前几天。

But what is the nuance between 这两天 and 前两天？

前几天 vs 前两天？


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## Skatinginbc

这两天 indicates a time period (e.g., 这两天我没有看到他 = 我昨天和前天都没有看到他) whereas 前两天 usually refers to a point of time. 
前几天 (several days ago, about two or more days ago) ≥  前两天 (approximately two or three days ago).


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## Youngfun

Then it's dialect interference, because in my dialect 前几天 can also cover 前两天 and we don't make such distinction.


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## SuperXW

Just like that in English, "couple" doesn't necessarily mean "two"...


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## BODYholic

Skatinginbc said:


> 前两天 = a couple days ago
> 两天前 = two days ago.





electricusa said:


> is there a difference between 前两天and 两天前？



Yes, there is a difference between the two. 前两天 is a little more  tricky as "前"(an indefinite adjective) modifies 两天 (a definite noun).  Hence, its meaning depends largely on what "前" refers to. As what XLJ  said, the context is important in this case.

Without context,  native speakers perceive "前" as something recent. So  前两天 is usually and conveniently taken as "a couple of days ago" or "recently". e.g. "前两天到北京出差去了。"

But  say, I visited China last year and spent 7 days there. Later, I  recounted my trip vividly "前两天在北京，其余五天则在上海。". Here "前" means the  initial days of my trip in China, it has nothing to do with "a couple of  days ago".



Youngfun said:


> Then it's dialect interference, because in my dialect 前几天 can also cover 前两天 and we don't make such distinction.


Ditto here in Singapore. We don't (really know how to) tell them apart.


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