Time Adverbs: 本来, 才, 曾经, 从来, 立刻
| 副词 | 意思 | 用法要点 | |------|------|----------| | 本来 běn lái | 原来（后来变了） | 本来想去，后来没去 | | 才 cái | 比预期晚/条件达成后才发生 | 他八点才到（比预期晚）| | 曾经 céng jīng | 曾经有过的经历，常带"过" | 我曾经去过北京 | | 从来 cóng lái | 一直如此（几乎总跟否定词"不/没"连用）| 他从来不迟到 | | 立刻…
核心区别1：才 vs 就 就＝比预期早/立刻发生（已学过）；才＝比预期晚，或要满足条件才发生。"六点就到了"（早）vs "八点才到"（晚）。
核心区别2：曾经 vs 从来 曾经＝"做过"（肯定的一次性经历，常配"过"）；从来＝"没做过/一直不"（几乎总跟否定连用，表"从过去到现在一直如此"）。
❌他从来去过北京 → ✅他曾经去过北京 / 他从来没去过北京。
Worked examples
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| 我本来想周末去爬山，后来下雨就没去。 | Wǒ běn lái xiǎng zhōu mò qù pá shān, hòu lái xià yǔ jiù méi qù. | I originally wanted to go hiking this weekend, but it rained later, so I didn't go. | 本来 states the original plan/intention, which then changed — usually followed by 后来 + what actually happened. |
| 火车八点就该开了，可是他八点半才到，差点儿没赶上。 | Huǒ chē bā diǎn jiù gāi kāi le, kě shì tā bā diǎn bàn cái dào, chà diǎnr méi gǎn shàng. | The train was supposed to leave at 8, but he didn't arrive until 8:30 — he almost missed it. | 才 marks arriving later than expected (8:30, after the 8:00 departure time), directly contrasted with 就 (which would mark something happening earlier/on schedule). |
| 我曾经在这家餐厅工作过一年，现在已经不做了。 | Wǒ céng jīng zài zhè jiā cān tīng gōng zuò guò yī nián, xiàn zài yǐ jīng bù zuò le. | I once worked at this restaurant for a year; I don't work there anymore now. | 曾经 + verb + 过 marks a definite past experience that has ended. |
| 他从来不喝咖啡，晚上喝了就睡不着。 | Tā cóng lái bù hē kā fēi, wǎn shàng hē le jiù shuì bù zháo. | He never drinks coffee — if he drinks it at night he can't fall asleep. | 从来 almost always pairs with a negation (不/没) to describe a consistent pattern from the past up to now. |
| 老师说，作业写完以后要立刻交上来，不能拖延。 | Lǎo shī shuō, zuò yè xiě wán yǐ hòu yào lì kè jiāo shàng lái, bù néng tuō yán. | The teacher said homework must be handed in immediately after finishing it — no delays. | 立刻 marks that an action must happen right away, with no gap in time. |
What you need first
Every topic in GraphChinese names its own prerequisites, and these are the grammar points this one is built on. If a sentence here will not parse, one of them is why.
What this opens up
These patterns list Time Adverbs among their own prerequisites, so they become readable once this one holds.
The same pattern at other levels
- Time Adverbs — HSK 2
- Time adverbs — HSK 4
- Time Adverbs — HSK 5
Time Adverbs is one topic of 829. GraphChinese teaches them in prerequisite order, so this pattern reaches you on the day everything it rests on is proven. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.
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