かつて | Grammar

Structure

かつて + [sentence] かつての + [noun] かつてない + [noun] かつて + [verb た-form] + ことがない

Description

かつて is an adverb meaning "once", "at one time": something was so a long time ago and is not so now. It goes at the head of the clause it belongs to, and the verb is in the past.

。

There was once a large castle here.

。

He was once a famous singer.

、。

This town once flourished, but now it has gone quiet.

Before a noun it takes の and means "former": かつてのゆうじん友人, a former friend.

。

This town keeps no trace of how it used to look.

Never before

With a negative, かつて means "never before": nothing like this has happened up to now. かつてない before a noun is a set phrase, "unprecedented".

。

We had more snow than ever before.

。

This is a situation I have never been in before.

。

Never before have so many people gathered.

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かつて is written Japanese: history, news, speeches. It also reaches far back, to another era, so it does not suit last month or last year. In conversation you say むかし昔 or まえ前は.

、。

There used to be a big castle here.

。

I used to come to this shop a lot.

Examples

。

Apparently, this area was once the sea.

。

She once competed in the Olympics.

。

I happened to reunite with a former friend.

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An unprecedented economic crisis struck the world.

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This building was formerly used as a school.

。

This is heat I have never experienced before.

。

I returned to my hometown to visit my former teacher.

。

He is someone who was once my boss.

。

Never before have this many people gathered.

、。

Even the civilization that once prospered eventually perished.

。

This town retains no trace of its former appearance.

。

He accomplished a feat that no one had ever achieved before.