<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <!DOCTYPE html> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:epub="http://www.idpf.org/2007/ops"> <head> <title></title> <link href="../Styles/main.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/> </head> <body> <h1>Expressing lateness with "cai" </h1> <p>To express that something happened later than expected, you can use 才 (cái). In English this might be expressed with "as late as" or "not until." This form is often used with a time of some sort, like a specific time of day, age, etc. </p> <h2>Contents</h2> <div class="contents"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">1 Structure </span><br/></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">2 Examples </span><br/></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">3 See also </span><br/></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">4 Sources and further reading </span><br/></li> <ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">4.1 Books</span></li> </ul> </ul> </div> <h3>Structure</h3> <div class="deux">Subj. + Time + 才 + Verb</div> <h3>Examples</h3> <div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">我 昨天 晚上 十一 点 才 到 家 。 Wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang shíyī diǎn cái dào jiā. I didn't arrive at home until eleven o'clock last night. </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">他 二十 五 岁 才 上 大学 。 Tā èrshí-wǔ suì cái shàng dàxué. He didn't go to college until he was 25. </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">她 四十 岁 才 结婚 。 Tā sìshí suì cái jiéhūn. She didn't get married until she was forty. </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">我 女儿 昨天 十二 点 才 睡觉 ，作业 太 多 了 。 Wǒ nǚ'ér zuótiān shí'èr diǎn cái shuìjiào, zuòyè tài duō le. My daughter didn't go to bed until 12 o'clock yesterday. Too much homework.</span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">你 九 点 上班 ，八 </span><span style="font-size: 20px;">点 半 才 起床 ？ Nǐ jiǔ diǎn shàngbān, bā diǎn bàn cái qǐchuáng? You get up at 8:30 when you need to show up at work at nine? </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">飞机 刚刚 才 起飞 ，晚点 了 两 个 小时 。 Fēijī gānggāng cái qǐfēi, wǎndiǎn le liǎng gè xiǎoshí. The flight just took off. It was delayed for two hours. </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">电影 七 点 半 开始 ，可是 因为 堵车 ，我们 八 点 才 到 。 Diànyǐng qī diǎn bàn kāishǐ, kěshì yīnwèi dǔchē, wǒmen bā diǎn cái dào. The movie began at 7:30, but we didn't arrive until eight because of traffic.</span><br/></li> </ul> </div> <p>You can use 才 alone with the verb to indicate the lateness when the context is clear:</p> <div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">你 怎么 才 吃 晚饭 ？已经 十 点 了 。 Nǐ zěnme cái chī wǎnfàn? Yǐjīng shí diǎn le. How come you are eating dinner now? It's 10 pm. </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">你 怎么 才 来 ？我们 等 了 半 个 多 小时 。 Nǐ zěnme cái lái? Wǒmen děng le bàn gè duō xiǎoshí. How come you came here so late? We've waited for more than half an hour.</span><br/></li> </ul> </div> <p>Note that verbs following 才 should not take 了. </p> <div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">我 昨天 晚上 十一 点 才 到 家 了 。 Wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang shíyī diǎn cái dào jiā le. </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">她 四十 岁 才 结婚 了 。 Tā sìshí suì cái jiéhūn le.</span><br/></li> </ul> </div> <h3>See also</h3> <div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Expressing earliness with "jiu" Using "cai" for small numbers </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Comparing "cai" and "jiu" </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Sources and further reading</span><br/></li> </ul> </div> <h3>Books</h3> <div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 117-8) →buy </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 139) →buy </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (pp. 239) →buy</span><br/></li> </ul> </div> </body> </html>