Introduction
从……到…… (cóng … dào …) marks a span — of distance or of time. 从北京到上海 (cóng Běijīng dào Shànghǎi) — from Beijing to Shanghai; 从九点到五点 (cóng jiǔ diǎn dào wǔ diǎn) — from nine to five. The whole block comes before the verb, which is where English speakers usually go wrong.
Overview
Structure: 从 (cóng) + [Place / Time] + 到 (dào) + [Place / Time] + Verb
| Pattern | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 从 + Place + 到 + Place | 从北京到上海 (cóng Běijīng dào Shànghǎi) | from Beijing to Shanghai |
| 从 + Time + 到 + Time | 从九点到五点 (cóng jiǔ diǎn dào wǔ diǎn) | from nine to five |
| 从……到……+ V | 我从家到公司走路。(Wǒ cóng jiā dào gōngsī zǒulù.) | I walk from home to the office. |
| 从 + Time + 开始 | 从明天开始 (cóng míngtiān kāishǐ) | starting tomorrow |
| 从 + Place + V | 我从北京来。(Wǒ cóng Běijīng lái.) | I've come from Beijing. |
The span goes before the verb, not after it:
- ✓ 我从九点到五点工作。(Wǒ cóng jiǔ diǎn dào wǔ diǎn gōngzuò.) — I work from nine to five.
- ❌ 我工作从九点到五点。(Wǒ gōngzuò cóng jiǔ diǎn dào wǔ diǎn.) — English order.
- 从 (cóng) and 到 (dào) are prepositions, and every preposition phrase in Chinese sits in front of the verb.
- When the sentence is just the span with no action, no verb is needed at all: 从北京到上海要五个小时。(Cóng Běijīng dào Shànghǎi yào wǔ ge xiǎoshí.)
Examples
从北京到上海要五个小时。
Cóng Běijīng dào Shànghǎi yào wǔ ge xiǎoshí.
It takes five hours from Beijing to Shanghai.
我从九点到五点工作。
Wǒ cóng jiǔ diǎn dào wǔ diǎn gōngzuò.
I work from nine to five.
从我家到公司很近。
Cóng wǒ jiā dào gōngsī hěn jìn.
It's very near from my home to the office.
从明天开始，我每天学中文。
Cóng míngtiān kāishǐ, wǒ měi tiān xué Zhōngwén.
Starting tomorrow, I'll study Chinese every day.
我从北京来。
Wǒ cóng Běijīng lái.
I've come from Beijing.
商店从早上八点开到晚上十点。
Shāngdiàn cóng zǎoshang bā diǎn kāi dào wǎnshang shí diǎn.
The shop is open from eight in the morning to ten at night.
Usage Notes
- 从 (cóng) can stand alone for a starting point: 我从北京来。(Wǒ cóng Běijīng lái.) 到 (dào) can stand alone for a destination: 我到北京了。(Wǒ dào Běijīng le.)
- 从……开始 (cóng … kāishǐ) — starting from — is the fixed phrase for a beginning with no stated end: 从下个月开始 (cóng xià gè yuè kāishǐ).
- Do not confuse 从 (cóng) with 离 (lí). 从 measures a journey; 离 measures a gap: 我家离公司很近。(Wǒ jiā lí gōngsī hěn jìn.)
- 到 (dào) is also a full verb meaning "to arrive": 我到了。(Wǒ dào le.) — I've arrived.
- A duration for the whole span goes after the verb: 从北京到上海要五个小时。(Cóng Běijīng dào Shànghǎi yào wǔ ge xiǎoshí.)