Past Tense (Basic)

Question 1

What word is used to indicate the past tense?

Answer 1

咗 (zo2)

Subject + Verb + 咗 + Object/Complement

Think of 咗 (zo2) as the Cantonese equivalent of adding “-ed” in English for past tense (e.g., “walk” → “walked”).
It shows that the action has been completed, regardless of when it happened.

Question 2

I ate rice

Answer 2

我食咗飯
ngo5 sik6 zo2 faan6

Question 3

He/She watched a movie

Answer 3

佢睇咗電影
keoi5 tai2 zo2 din6 jing2

Question 4

I bought a phone

Answer 4

我買咗一部手機
ngo5 maai5 zo1 jat1 bou6 sau2 gei1