# HSK 3 Grammar: 从……起 (cóng...qǐ) Meaning, Structure and Examples | HSKReady Canonical: https://hskready.app/en/grammar/hsk-3-fixed-patterns-g045 Language: en Content ID: web-grammar-hsk-3-g045 HSK levels: 3 Updated: 2026-10-23T04:55:49.488Z Scope: published website educational content; full vocabulary, question bank and mock exams remain in the app. Learn how to use the HSK 3 fixed frame 从……起 to express 'starting from' a time, stage, or ordered point, with clear structure rules and examples. Grammar [HSK 3 · Fixed patterns](https://hskready.app/en/grammar/hsk-3#hsk-3-g045) # Using 从……起 to Mark a Starting Point in Chinese The fixed frame 从……起 marks a clear boundary where an action, habit, rule, or sequence begins and continues onward, equivalent to 'starting from' or 'from... onward' in English. 从 Starting Point (Time / Stage / Sequence Item) 起， Subject Main Clause Example sentence 从明天起，我们每天早上八点上课。 Cóng míngtiān qǐ, wǒmen měitiān zǎoshang bā diǎn shàngkè. Starting from tomorrow, we will have class at eight o'clock every morning. Placed at the start of the sentence to announce a new schedule taking effect. A common mistake × 从两个小时起，他一直在看书。 Cóng liǎng ge xiǎoshí qǐ, tā yīzhí zài kànshū. Intended: Since two hours ago / For two hours, he has been reading. Unsuitable for the intended meaning since two hours ago: 两个小时 is a bare duration and does not locate the start on this timeline. Add 前 to form 两个小时前, a relative time point, as in the following correction. This does not forbid duration thresholds in other contexts. Corrected example: 从两个小时前起，他一直在看书。 **Read the full explanation and examples** ## Core Meaning and Pragmatic Function In the HSK Level 3 syllabus, 从……起 is classified as a fixed frame used to establish a clear starting point for a state, habit, rule, or ongoing action. In this frame, the preposition 从 (from) and the closing word 起 (to rise or start) are fixed elements that wrap around a specific reference point. Pragmatically, 从……起 does more than simply name a time. It emphasizes a boundary from which a situation holds true or takes effect moving forward. Because of this firm boundary sense, speakers frequently use it to announce personal resolutions, state when a new policy or schedule takes effect, or trace a long-standing habit back to its origin. In terms of register, it is comfortable in both everyday conversation and slightly more formal notices or written instructions. 从明天起，我们每天早上八点上课。 Cóng míngtiān qǐ, wǒmen měitiān zǎoshang bā diǎn shàngkè. Starting from tomorrow, we will have class at eight o'clock every morning. Placed at the start of the sentence to announce a new schedule taking effect. ## Sentence Structures and Word Order In a neutral complete statement, normally place 从……起 before the main predicate, either before or after the subject. These are reliable basic orders. Spoken afterthoughts and emphatic rearrangements are different contexts, so do not turn the usual order into a ban on every phrase occurring later in speech. 从 Starting Point (Time / Stage / Sequence Item) 起， Subject Main Clause 从现在起，我要多运动，少喝咖啡。 Cóng xiànzài qǐ, wǒ yào duō yùndòng, shǎo hē kāfēi. From now on, I am going to exercise more and drink less coffee. A typical personal resolution using 现在 (now) as the boundary point. Subject 从 Starting Point (Time / Stage / Sequence Item) 起 Predicate / Verb Phrase 他从小时候起就很喜欢画画。 Tā cóng xiǎoshíhou qǐ jiù hěn xǐhuan huàhuà. He has really liked drawing ever since childhood. Placed after the subject and paired with 就 to show a state continuing from an early life stage. 就 often emphasizes that the state was already true from that early point, as in 他从小时候起就很喜欢画画. 一直 explicitly marks continuity. The starting-point phrase itself does not force every action to continue without interruption until the present; interpret the rest of the sentence and context. ## What Can Fill the Slot The open slot between 从 and 起 requires a specific point of origin. While time words are the most common choice, the slot can also accept life stages or numbered items in a sequence. - Specific time words or dates: 今天 (today), 明天 (tomorrow), 现在 (now), 下个月 (next month), 八点 (eight o'clock). - Life stages or eras: 小时候 (childhood), 上大学 (entering university), 那天 (that day). - Ordered positions or starting items in a sequence: 第一课 (Lesson 1), 第十页 (page 10), 这里 (here, when lining up or reading in order). 请大家从第十页起往后看。 Qǐng dàjiā cóng dì-shí yè qǐ wǎng hòu kàn. Everyone, please read onward starting from page ten. Uses an ordered page number in the slot to mark where a sequence of actions should begin. ## Key Restrictions and Common Errors For an action's starting time, distinguish a duration from an anchored time point. 两个小时 measures a length; 两个小时前 locates a point relative to now. A clock time, date, life stage or event can also locate the start. Choose the correction that preserves what the speaker intended to say. × 从两个小时起，他一直在看书。 Cóng liǎng ge xiǎoshí qǐ, tā yīzhí zài kànshū. Intended: Since two hours ago / For two hours, he has been reading. Unsuitable for the intended meaning since two hours ago: 两个小时 is a bare duration and does not locate the start on this timeline. Add 前 to form 两个小时前, a relative time point, as in the following correction. This does not forbid duration thresholds in other contexts. Corrected example: 从两个小时前起，他一直在看书。 从两个小时前起，他一直在看书。 Cóng liǎng ge xiǎoshí qián qǐ, tā yīzhí zài kànshū. He has been reading continuously since two hours ago. 两个小时前 supplies the relative starting point missing from the learner sentence. Adding 前 keeps the intended two-hours-ago meaning; changing it to 两点 would instead specify a clock time. For travel from A to B, 从……到…… is a useful basic pattern because it names both endpoints. 从……起 can also mark a spatial starting point when the context presents an onward route, for example 从村口起，一直往山上走. Do not restrict every place after 从……起 to pages, queues or numbered tasks. ## Contrasting 从……起 with Similar Frames At the HSK 3 level, learners often wonder how 从……起 differs from 从……开始 (cóng... kāishǐ) and 从……到…… (cóng... dào...). Understanding two practical distinctions will help you choose the most natural pattern. - 从……起 versus 从……开始: When the slot holds a time word or sequence number, the two frames overlap heavily and are often interchangeable. However, 从……起 is slightly more compact and emphatic for rules, schedules, and personal declarations ('from this moment onward'). Furthermore, 从……开始 can easily take an action verb phrase in the slot to describe how a process begins (such as starting by learning pinyin), whereas 从……起 strongly prefers nouns, time words, and short time-marking phrases. - 从……起 versus 从……到……: The frame 从……起 is open-ended; it sets the starting line and looks forward without naming an endpoint. By contrast, 从……到…… defines a closed range with both a starting point and an ending point, whether in time or in physical space. ## Frequently asked questions **Can I drop 起 and just use 从 with a time word?** Yes. A time phrase with 从 can be natural without 起, for example 我从明天开始运动 or 从明天我就每天运动. Keeping 起 in 从明天起 makes the starting boundary explicit and practises the outline frame, but 起 is not compulsory in every sentence with 从 and a time expression. **Does it matter whether 从……起 goes before or after the subject?** Both positions are grammatical, but there is a subtle shift in focus. Putting 从……起 before the subject sets the stage for the whole sentence and sounds natural for general announcements, schedules, and resolutions. Putting it after the subject keeps the spotlight on the person or thing being described, which is especially common when describing someone's long-term habits. **Source**[hsk.cn-bj.ufileos.com · PDF page 393](https://hsk.cn-bj.ufileos.com/3.0/%E6%96%B0%E7%89%88HSK%E8%80%83%E8%AF%95%E5%A4%A7%E7%BA%B21219.pdf#page=393) ## Continue in the app Full mock exams are available in HSKReady. 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