Comparing similar time words

• 22 Comparing similar time words

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  Original teaching practice. Read one pattern, cover its model and try the questions before checking the separate answer section. Examples adapted from Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning, CC BY-NC-SA) retain the course-reference provenance.

  after以后yǐ hòu vs then / after然后rán hòu vs afterwards后来hòu lái (then / after)

  Telling your day in order

  • You describe last Saturday: shopping, then lunch, and much later a surprise phone call.
  • I / me我wǒearly先xiānto go去qùto buy买mǎithing东西dōng xī，then / after然后rán hòuvariant of 吃吃chī(completed / change)了lelunch午饭wǔ fàn。afterwards后来hòu lái，I / me我wǒ(modifier / structural particle)的deold friend老朋友lǎo péng yǒuto / for / give给gěiI / me我wǒto make a telephone call打电话dǎ diàn huà(completed / change)了le。 — "First I went shopping, then I had lunch. Later on, an old friend phoned me."

  Three words for "after"

  • after以后yǐ hòu follows an event (to have a meal吃饭chī fànafter以后yǐ hòu) or, alone, means "in the future" (after以后yǐ hòuto say again再说zài shuō).
  • then / after然后rán hòu links the next step, in the past or future (early先xiānto wash one's hands洗手xǐ shǒu，then / after然后rán hòuto have a meal吃饭chī fàn). afterwards后来hòu lái jumps forward in a past story only.

  first先xiānwash hands洗手xǐ shǒu，then然后rán hòueat吃饭chī fàn。

  

  Choosing by the situation

  • Plan: we / us我们wǒ menearly先xiānto have a meal吃饭chī fàn，then / after然后rán hòuto go去qùto see看kànmovie电影diàn yǐng。 — "Let's eat first, then see a film." (after以后yǐ hòu / then / after然后rán hòu, not afterwards后来hòu lái)
  • Story: we / us我们wǒ mento be / is是shìuniversity大学dà xuéto study at the same school同学tóng xué，afterwards后来hòu láito marry结婚jié hūn(completed / change)了le。 — "We were classmates at university, and later we got married."

  we我们wǒ menwere是shìuniversity大学dà xuéclassmates同学tóng xué，later后来hòu láimarry结婚jié hūn了le。

  Two common slips

  • afterwards后来hòu lái is never for the future: we / us我们wǒ menafter以后yǐ hòuto appear见jiàn, not we / us我们wǒ menafterwards后来hòu láito appear见jiàn.
  • afterwards后来hòu lái is never added after an event: to finish class下课xià kèafter以后yǐ hòu, not to finish class下课xià kèafterwards后来hòu lái.

  after以后yǐ hòu after a clause

  • I / me我wǒto / arrive到dào(completed / change)了leafter以后yǐ hòuto / for / give给gěiyou你nǐto make a telephone call打电话dǎ diàn huà。 — "I'll call you after I arrive."
  • then / after然后rán hòu cannot do this job: it starts the next clause instead: I / me我wǒto / arrive到dào(completed / change)了le，then / after然后rán hòuto / for / give给gěiyou你nǐto make a telephone call打电话dǎ diàn huà。

  I我wǒarrive到dào了leafter以后yǐ hòuto给gěiyou你nǐmake打dǎa call电话diàn huà。

  Recap

  • after以后yǐ hòu = after X / in the future; then / after然后rán hòu = and then (next step, any time); afterwards后来hòu lái = later on (past stories only).
  • Plans use then / after然后rán hòu or after以后yǐ hòu, never afterwards后来hòu lái.

  Practise this pattern step by step.

  Practice without the models

  after以后yǐ hòu vs then / after然后rán hòu vs afterwards后来hòu lái (then / after)

  0517.1 A recipe: “Wash the vegetables, then cut them.” early先xiān洗菜xǐ cài，…………切菜qiè cài。

  0517.2 Which says “See you later” (in the future)?

  • A. we / us我们wǒ mento appear见jiànafterwards后来hòu lái。
  • B. we / us我们wǒ menafterwards后来hòu láito appear见jiàn。
  • C. we / us我们wǒ menthen / after然后rán hòuto appear见jiànafter以后yǐ hòu。
  • D. we / us我们wǒ menafter以后yǐ hòuto appear见jiàn。

  0517.3 Match each word to its use.

  • 1. after以后yǐ hòu
  • 2. then / after然后rán hòu
  • 3. afterwards后来hòu lái

  • A. the next step

  • B. later on in a past story

  • C. after an event / in the future

  0517.4 Build: “I'll call you after I arrive.”

  Arrange all chunks: to / arrive到dào(completed / change)了leafter以后yǐ hòu / to make a telephone call打电话dǎ diàn huà。 / to / for / give给gěiyou你nǐ / I / me我wǒ

  0517.5 You describe last Saturday: shopping, then lunch, and much later a surprise phone call. Close the examples. Say a Mandarin response, then write it in Chinese. Explain briefly in English what the lesson’s pattern adds. Compare with the model, then change one detail and try again.

  Write or say your own response before reading the key.

  Answers and explanations

  after以后yǐ hòu vs then / after然后rán hòu vs afterwards后来hòu lái (then / after)

  0517.1 then / after然后rán hòu

  then / after然后rán hòu links the next step.

  0517.2 D. we / us我们wǒ menafter以后yǐ hòuto appear见jiàn。

  afterwards后来hòu lái is only for past stories; after以后yǐ hòu can refer to the future.

  0517.3 1–C: after以后yǐ hòu = after an event / in the future; 2–A: then / after然后rán hòu = the next step; 3–B: afterwards后来hòu lái = later on in a past story

  Each “after” word has its own job.

  0517.4 I / me我wǒto / arrive到dào(completed / change)了leafter以后yǐ hòuto / for / give给gěiyou你nǐto make a telephone call打电话dǎ diàn huà。

  Clause + after以后yǐ hòu + main clause.

  0517.5 One possible response: I / me我wǒearly先xiānto go去qùto buy买mǎithing东西dōng xī，then / after然后rán hòuvariant of 吃吃chī(completed / change)了lelunch午饭wǔ fàn。afterwards后来hòu lái，I / me我wǒ(modifier / structural particle)的deold friend老朋友lǎo péng yǒuto / for / give给gěiI / me我wǒto make a telephone call打电话dǎ diàn huà(completed / change)了le。

  Check meaning and form:

  • My response conveys a message that fits the opening situation.
  • I can explain the meaning of the pattern, rather than only naming it.
  • afterwards后来hòu lái is never for the future: we / us我们wǒ menafter以后yǐ hòuto appear见jiàn, not we / us我们wǒ menafterwards后来hòu láito appear见jiàn.
  • afterwards后来hòu lái is never added after an event: to finish class下课xià kèafter以后yǐ hòu, not to finish class下课xià kèafterwards后来hòu lái.
  • I tried a second response with a name, time, place, or description changed.

  This is supported productive practice. Compare meaning and structure; your answer need not copy the model. A partner or teacher must hear the spoken response to comment on pronunciation.

All topics · HSK 3 Grammar