Level 2 · Elementary
All along: 一直
Subj. + 一直 + Verb
一直 (yìzhí) means "continuously / all along" — an action or state that hasn't stopped: 我一直在这家公司工作 "I've been working at this company all along", 昨天一直在下雨 "it rained nonstop yesterday". It goes right before the verb (or before 在 + verb).
Don't confuse it with 总是 "always" for habits: 他总是迟到 "he's always late" (happens every time), vs. 他一直在等你 "he's been waiting for you this whole time" (one unbroken stretch).
Examples
我一直在这家公司工作。
我一直在這家公司工作。
wǒ yī zhí zài zhè jiā gōng sī gōng zuò
I've been working at this company all along.
昨天一直在下雨。
zuó tiān yī zhí zài xià yǔ
It rained nonstop yesterday.
他一直很喜欢你。
他一直很喜歡你。
tā yī zhí hěn xǐ huan nǐ
He has always liked you.
我们一直等到十点。
我們一直等到十點。
wǒ men yī zhí děng dào shí diǎn
We kept waiting until ten o'clock.
Common mistakes
✗ 一直我在等你。
✓ 我一直在等你。
一直 sits after the subject, right before the verb phrase.
Related grammar points
Practice this pattern in graded stories like The Blue Star (Part 13), Waiting at the Bench (Part 8), Busy Before Lunch (Part 4) inside the Literate Chinese app.
