Expressing Never Using 从来不 and 从来没

We use 从(来)不cónglái bù to express that you never do something (as a habit, or as a rule). With or without “来lái” are both ok.

Sub + 从(来) 不cónglái Bù + Verb Phrase

wǒ cónglái bù hējiǔ.

我从来不喝酒.

I never drink.

Guǎngzhōu de dōngtiān cóngbù xiàxuě.

广州的冬天从不下雪。

It never snows in the winter in Guangzhōu.

We use 从(来)cónglái没(有)méiyǒu to express that you have never done something before (it’s not a part of your life experience). In Q1, we learned how to express “experience - have done” using verb + 过guò, AND, to negate the “experience (haven’t done)”, we use 没(有)méiyǒu. Therefore, when we use 从来cónglái to emphasize “have never done”, we will pair 从来cónglái没有méiyǒu with verb 过guò.  

Sub + 从(来)cónglái  没(有)méiyǒu + Verb 过guò  

20 suì yǐqián，wǒ cónglái méi hē guò jiǔ.

20岁以前，我从来没喝过酒。

I had never drunk before 20 years old.

Guǎngzhōu de dōngtiān cóng méi xià guò xuě, jīnnián zěnme xià xuě le?

广州的冬天从没下过雪，今年怎么下雪了？

There has never been snow in Guangzhou in winter, why is it snowing this year?