先 … ，再 … (first …, then …)
IntroducedA meal has an order of actions
- Before eating, someone tells you to wash your hands.
- first先wash hands洗手，again / then再to have a meal吃饭。 — The instruction puts washing before eating.
Before eating, someone tells you to wash your hands. What does 先洗手，再吃饭。 communicate?
The instruction puts washing before eating. 再 links the second step; it does not require a second meal. The sentence specifies order but not the exact delay between actions. 然后 can link later steps too.
Build the form
- The pattern in this lesson is first先 … ，again / then再 … (first …, then …). Locate it in the original interlinear examples below.
- Keep the words in their demonstrated positions; the pattern must fit the intended situation as well as the sentence form.
first先wash hands洗手then，再eat吃。
Using the lesson pattern in this demonstrated example: Complete: 先洗手,____ 吃。(Wash your hands first, then eat.)
先 + V1 ，再 + V2 — 先洗手,再吃.
Read examples in context
- In the opening example, first先wash hands洗手，again / then再to have a meal吃饭。: The instruction puts washing before eating.
- Explain who acts, what is described and which time or group is relevant before choosing an English paraphrase.
先 … 再 … expresses …
Here 再 = “then” (next step), not “again.”
Build: “Do your homework first, then watch TV.”
先 + V1 ，再 + V2: 先 + 做作业 + 再 + 看电视.
Know the boundary
- again / then再 links the second step; it does not require a second meal.
- The sentence specifies order but not the exact delay between actions. then / after然后 can link later steps too.
In 先 … 再 …, 再 means “again.”
In this pair 再 = “then,” the next step in a sequence.
In the opening situation: The instruction puts washing before eating.
再 links the second step; it does not require a second meal. The sentence specifies order but not the exact delay between actions. 然后 can link later steps too. The instruction puts washing before eating.
Use the distinction
- The instruction puts washing before eating.
- again / then再 links the second step; it does not require a second meal. The sentence specifies order but not the exact delay between actions. then / after然后 can link later steps too.
Read the full reference: HSK 3 grammar — Adverbs.
Before eating, someone tells you to wash your hands. 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.
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.