Adverbs of Attitude - 才4、就5、并1、还4…
语气副词 — 才4、就5、并1、还4…
Understand the use of 才 / 就 / 并 / 还 and their placement in the sentence.
Elements
How to use it
- Placement: Adverbs generally precede the verb or adjective they modify (often after the subject).
- For 才, take a model sentence like 下午两点他才起床 (He only woke up at two o'clock) and replace only the variable information.
- After substitution, verify that 了 / 不 / 没 / 吗 remain coherent with the meaning and time of the sentence.
- Context: Especially in questions and answers and explanation and argumentation.
Examples
下午两点他才起床
xiàwǔ liǎng diǎn tā cái qǐchuáng
He only woke up at two o'clock
他喜欢读书并看电影。
tā xǐhuān dúshū bìng kàn diànyǐng.
He likes reading and watching movies.
尽管下雨，他们竟然还是去了公园。
jìn guǎn xiàyǔ, tāmen jìngrán hái shì qù le gōngyuán.
Despite the rain, they went to the park, which is still.
他竟然赢了比赛。
tā jìngrán yíng le bǐsài.
He won the competition, which is surprising.
究竟发生了什么？
jiūjìng fāshēng le shénme？
What really happened?
他工作到了深夜。
Tā gōngzuò dào shēnnèi.
He worked until midnight.
Notes and exceptions
- 就 — Consequence / immediacy: Very versatile
- often with conditional or rapid structures (一…就…).
- 才 — Only then: Marks the necessary condition or 'only at that moment'.
Common mistakes
- Check the order of elements before speaking or writing.
- Use a complete sentence to validate the structure in real context.
Practice quiz
Choose the best option for each sentence, then submit to view the correction.
1. 下午两点他____起床
(He only woke up at two o'clock)
2. 他喜欢读书____看电影。
(He likes reading and watching movies.)
3. 尽管下雨，他们____还是去了公园。
(Despite the rain, they went to the park, which is still.)
4. 他____赢了比赛。
(He won the competition, which is surprising.)
5. ____发生了什么？
(What really happened?)