Your learning plan · Continue · Review →
就 and 才 — earlier or later than expected
IntroduzidoSua posição salva fica neste navegador. Retomar não conclui a lição nem responde às suas perguntas.
Early or late?
- Class starts at eight. One student arrives at seven; another arrives at nine.
- he他seven o'clock七点already就come来(completed / change)了。 — "He came as early as seven." she她nine o'clock九点not until才come来。 — "She didn't come until nine."
already就: earlier or sooner than expected
- (concept of) time时间 + already就 + verb + (completed / change)了 says it happened early or quickly: he他seven o'clock七点already就come来(completed / change)了, he was already here at seven.
- already就 often goes with (completed / change)了 because the action has happened.
he他seven o'clock七点already就come来了。
Class starts at 8 and he arrives at 7. Which fits?
Difficulty 1/5 · 100 coins + a small bonus on first completion today
Earlier than expected uses 就 after the time, with 了 at the end.
not until才: later than expected
- (concept of) time时间 + not until才 + verb says it happened late: she她nine o'clock九点not until才come来, she only came at nine.
- With not until才, leave out (completed / change)了: she她nine o'clock九点not until才come来, not she她nine o'clock九点not until才come来(completed / change)了.
she她nine o'clock九点not until才come来。
Class starts at 8. “She didn’t come until nine.” 她九点____来。
Difficulty 1/5 · 100 coins + a small bonus on first completion today
才 marks a later-than-expected time and takes no 了.
The same pattern with other numbers
- 我学(completed / change)了一个月already就can / will会variant of 说说(completed / change)了。 — "After only a month of study I could speak." (quick)
- 我学(completed / change)了一年not until才can / will会variant of 说说。 — "It took me a whole year before I could speak." (slow)
我学了一年才会说 suggests that learning to speak took a long time.
Difficulty 1/5 · 100 coins + a small bonus on first completion today
True. 才 marks that it took longer than expected.
Build: “After only a month of study I could speak.”
Difficulty 3/5 · 200 coins + a small bonus on first completion today
Time + 就 + verb + 了 shows it happened quickly.
Watch out
- already就 sentences usually end with (completed / change)了; not until才 sentences usually do not.
- Both words go after the time and before the verb: seven o'clock七点already就come来(completed / change)了, not already就seven o'clock七点come来(completed / change)了.
Recap
- Time + already就 + verb + (completed / change)了 = earlier or sooner than expected.
- Time + not until才 + verb (no (completed / change)了) = later or slower than expected.
Tell a friend about this morning. Say one thing that happened earlier than usual and one thing that happened later than you expected. Close the examples. Say it, then write it in Chinese.
Compare meaning and word order with the model; your sentences need not copy it. A partner or teacher must hear the spoken version to comment on pronunciation.