add "有": 从前一段时间 => 从前有一段时间 从前 means once upon a time. It's often used to tell stories. You'll find many fairy tales start the story by saying 从前有..., which means "there was/were". Here is a joke: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 从前有一只熊猫，它到一家饭店点了菜就开始吃，吃完之后掏出一把枪乱放几枪走了。饭店的老板就问它，你为什么要这样做？熊猫就说，你查一下字典。老板发现字典上写着: Panda:an animal,eats shoots and leaves ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 从前有一段时间 is more specific than just 从前. It means "there used to be a time, a period when ...". It says that something had happened during some period of time in the past. Compare these two sentences: -这里的饮料从前是免费的。 -The drinks here used to be free. -从前有一段时间，这里的饮料是免费的。 -There was a time, when the drinks here were free.

once upon a time=formerly=in the past=从前，过去。

很久以前。一般在讲童话故事的时候都用这句开头。

从前一段时间，这一句话本身就有点问题，就说从前就可以了

once upon a time = 从前，it`s okey