Expressing lateness with "cai"

Nível: HSK 3 | Categoria: Gramática

Explicação da Regra:

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. This pattern is essentially the opposite of using 就 (jiù) to express earliness . Subj. + Time + 才 + Verb You can use 才 alone with the verb to indicate the lateness when the context is clear: Note that verbs following 才 should not take 了.

Exemplos com Falantes Nativos:

• 我昨天晚上十一点才到家。 (wǒ zuótiān wǎnshàng shíyī diǎn cái dào jiā 。): "I didn't get home until eleven o'clock last night."
• 他二十五岁才上大学。 (tā èrshí wǔ sùi cái shàng dàxué 。): "He didn't go to college until he was 25 years old."
• 她四十岁才结婚。 (tā sìshí sùi cái jiéhūn 。): "She was married at the age of forty."
• 我女儿昨天十二点才睡觉，作业太多了。 (wǒ nv̌ér zuótiān shíèr diǎn cái shùijué ，zuòyè tài duō le 。): "My daughter went to bed at twelve o'clock yesterday and had too much homework."
• 你九点上班，八点半才起床？ (nǐ jǐu diǎn shàngbān ，bā diǎn bàn cái qǐchuáng ？): "You go to work at nine, and you get up at half past eight?"

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