Level 3 Lesson 38.2 – 只有工资水平提高了，生活水平才会跟着提高。
GRAMMAR: Adverb 才 In Structure 只有……，才……
In this HSK 3 video lesson we'll learn a new structure with Adverb 才, "只有……，才……", indicating "only when...., then..."
- Structure 只有……，才…… (zhǐyǒu......, cái...... ▸ only with the condition that..., then... )
- 才 used by itself
- followed by the result of a mentioned “one and only” condition
- followed by the result of a mentioned “one and only” condition in Compressed/Contracted Sentences
GRAMMAR
Grammar 1. 只有……，才……
zhǐyǒu......, cái...... ▸ only when..., then...
In Lesson 37, we learned that 才's first usage, and today we'll learn another usage of 才.
| ☑ See also 才 (cái ▸ adv. of Time, indicating an action or event happens or ends late; “as late as”). |
In today's lesson, 才 is used together with 只有, following this structure:
只有……，才……
For example,
- Zhǐyǒu nǐ kāixīn, wǒ cái kāixīn.
只有你开心，我才开心。
Only-with-the-condition(-that) you (are) happy, I “then” (am) happy. - Zhǐyǒu bàn hǎo le qiānzhèng, nǐ cái néng chūguó.
只有办好了签证，你才能出国。
Only-with-the-condition(-that) (you) handle-well (the) visa, you “then” can go-abroad. - Zhǐyǒu shēngbìng le, cái zhīdào jiànkāng yǒu duō zhòngyào.
只有生病了，才知道健康有多重要。
Only-with-the-condition(-that) (one) gets-sick, “then” (they) know how important health is.
Grammar 2. 才
cái ▸ used by itself followed by the result of a mentioned “one and only” condition
Adverb 才 can also be used by itself without 只有. We can used 才 by placing it in front of a previously mentioned "one and only" condition.
When 才 is used by itself, it can be used 1) in a regular sentence 2) in a Compressed/Contracted Sentences. We'll look at the two situations one by one.
| ☑ See also 紧缩句 (Jǐnsuōjù▸ Compressed Sentences; Contracted Sentences). |
(1) 才 used by itself in a regular sentence
- Nǐ bìxū xiān bǎ qíngkuàng gàosu wǒmen, wǒmen cái zhīdào fāshēng le shénme ’a!
你必须先把情况告诉我们，我们才知道发生了什么啊！
You must first (-) “ba”{indicating the handling of} (the) situation tell us (-) we “(only with that condition-)then” know (there) happened what! - Jiù shì yīnwèi lí bu kāi zhè xiē xuésheng, wǒ cái dāng le zhème jiǔ lǎoshī.
就是因为离不开这些学生，我才当了这么久老师。
(It) “exactly” “is because” because (I do) not-have-the-potential-to-be-able-to leave these students, I “only with that condition-) then” (have) been (a) teacher (for) this long.
(2) 才 used by itself in a Compressed/Contracted Sentence
- Bǎ kōngtiáo dǎkāi cái shūfu ’a!
把空调打开才舒服啊！
“Ba” (the) air-conditioner (-) turn-on “(and only with that condition-)then” (it is) comfortable! - Zuòyè zuò wán cái néng wánr diànnǎo.
作业做完才能玩儿电脑。
(The) homework (is) finished-doing “(and only with that condition-)then” (you) can play (the) computer. - Yǒu piào cái néng jìn qu.
有票才能进去。
(You) have (the) ticket “(and only with that condition-)then” (you) can go-in.