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ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
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<p>The word <a href="%E5%86%8D" title="wikilink">再 (zài)</a>
actually has a lot of uses, beyond just <a href=
"Again_in_the_future_with_&quot;zai&quot;" title=
"wikilink">"again."</a> "先⋯⋯， 再⋯⋯" (xiān..., zài...) is a pattern
used for sequencing events, much like "First..., then..." in
English. This pattern can also include "然后" (ránhòu) meaning "and
after that."</p>
<h2 id="general-usage">General Usage</h2>
<p>In the pattern below, 再 has a meaning of "then" or "and
then."</p>
<h3 id="structure">Structure</h3>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>先 + [Verb Phrase 1] + 再 + [Verb Phrase 2]</p>
</div>
<h3 id="examples">Examples</h3>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li><em>先</em> 洗 手 <em>再</em> 吃。<span class="pinyin"><em>Xiān</em>
xǐ shǒu <em>zài</em> chī.</span><span class="trans">Wash your
hands, and then eat.</span></li>
<li>我 喜欢 <em>先</em> 洗澡，<em>再</em> 睡觉。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ xǐhuan
<em>xiān</em> xǐzǎo, <em>zài</em> shuìjiào.</span><span class=
"trans">I prefer to take a bath before I go to bed.</span></li>
<li>请 你 <em>先</em> 买 票 <em>再</em> 进。<span class="pinyin">Qǐng nǐ
<em>xiān</em> mǎi piào <em>zài</em> jìn.</span><span class=
"trans">Please buy a ticket first, and then you come
in.</span></li>
<li>你 要 <em>先</em> 做 作业<em>再</em> 看 电视。<span class="pinyin">Tā yào
<em>xiān</em> zuò zuòyè, <em>zài</em> kàn
diànshì.</span><span class="trans">First you need to do your
homework, and then you can watch.</span></li>
<li>你 <em>先</em> 找 工作 <em>再</em> 考虑 买 房子。<span class="pinyin">Nǐ
<em>xiān</em> zhǎo gōngzuò <em>zài</em> kǎolǜ mǎi
fángzi.</span><span class="trans">First find a job, then you can
think about buying a house.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="using-先-with-再说">Using 先 with 再说</h2>
<p>You may have learned that <a href=
"&quot;In_addition&quot;_with_&quot;zaishuo&quot;" title=
"wikilink">"再说" can mean "in addition."</a> Well, this usage of 再
is a more literal combination of 再说, fitting into the 先⋯⋯再⋯⋯
pattern.</p>
<p>So in this usage, 再说 doesn't really mean "in addition." Rather,
it most literally means "and then we'll talk." In other words,
"let's just do this now," and then after we see the result, we can
talk some more about next steps. There's kind of a "let's see how
this goes first" feeling to the expression.</p>
<h3 id="structure-1">Structure</h3>
<p>Note that in the pattern below, the sentence normally ends with
再说.</p>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>先 + [Verb Phrase] + 再说</p>
</div>
<h3 id="examples-1">Examples</h3>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li><em>先</em> 吃饭 <em>再说</em> 。<span class="pinyin"><em>Xiān</em>
chīfàn <em>zàishuō</em>.</span><span class="trans">Let's eat first,
then we'll talk.</span></li>
<li><em>先</em> 休息 一下 <em>再说</em> 。<span class=
"pinyin"><em>Xiān</em> xiūxi yīxià
<em>zàishuō</em>.</span><span class="trans">Let's rest a little
first, then talk.</span></li>
<li>你 <em>先</em> 看 完<em>再说</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Nǐ
<em>xiān</em> kàn wán <em>zàishuō</em>.</span><span class=
"trans">Finish reading first, and then we can talk.</span></li>
<li>我 <em>先</em> 问 一下 老板 <em>再说</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ
<em>xiān</em> wèn yīxià lǎobǎn <em>zàishuō</em>.</span><span class=
"trans">I'm going to ask the boss first.</span></li>
<li>你们 <em>先</em> 讨论 一下 <em>再说</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Nǐmen
<em>xiān</em> tǎolùn yīxià <em>zàishuō</em>.</span><span class=
"trans">You guys discuss a little first, then we'll
talk.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="using-然后-and-接着-with-先">Using 然后 and 接着 with 先</h2>
<p>当描述一系列前后关联的行为步骤或事件发生的过程时，你需要用到更丰富的连词。"然后"是最常用的，表示"and
then"；"接着"作为连词表示"next,
afterwards"。跟"然后"比，"接着"还可以作为副词，表示"动作的继续"，如"接着做，接着说"。</p>
<p>A great example to help you understand this:</p>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>今 早 我 起床 以后 <em>先</em> 准备 早饭，<em>再</em> 叫 孩子们 起床，<em>接着</em> 我们
一起 吃早饭，<em>然后</em> 我 送 他们 去 学校 。<span class="pinyin">Jīn zǎo wǒ
qǐchuáng yǐhòu <em>xiān</em> zhǔnbèi zǎofàn, <em>zài</em> jiào
háizi men qǐchuáng, <em>jiēzhe</em> wǒmen yīqǐ chī zǎofàn,
<em>ránhòu</em> wǒ sòng tāmen qù xuéxiào.</span><span class=
"trans">After I got up this morning, I first prepared breakfast,
and then I woke up the kids. Afterwards, we ate breakfast together.
After that, I took them to school.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further
reading</h2>
<h3 id="books">Books</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_1_(3rd_ed)" title=
"wikilink">Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)</a> (pp.
258-9) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276385/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=0887276385">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href="Integrated_Chinese:_Level_2,_Part_2" title=
"wikilink">Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2</a> (pp. 19-20)
<a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276881/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0887276881">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href=
"%E5%8D%93%E8%B6%8A%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%EF%BC%8D%E5%85%AC%E5%8F%B8%E5%AE%9E%E6%88%98%E7%AF%87"
class="uri" title="wikilink">卓越汉语－公司实战篇</a> (p. 172) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.cn/%E5%8D%93%E8%B6%8A%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD-%E5%85%AC%E5%8F%B8%E5%AE%9E%E6%88%98%E7%AF%87-%E8%83%A1%E7%81%B5%E5%9D%87/dp/B003QZWQ6M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1347863170&amp;sr=8-1">
→buy</a></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="Category:B1_grammar_points" title=
"wikilink">Category:B1 grammar points</a></p>
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