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… ，才 … (only then / only after)
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Only after you finish
- Your parents have one rule about screen time on school nights.
- you你finish做完homework作业，talent才能play玩games游戏。 — "You can only play games after you finish your homework."
Condition，Subject + only then才 + Verb
- A，only then才 B = "only after / only if A, B": B depends on A happening first.
- only then才 follows the subject of the second clause and often goes with can能 or can / will会: talent才能, only then才can / will会.
you你finish做完homework作业，only then才can能play玩games游戏。
Complete: “You can only go out after you've eaten.” 你吃了饭，____能出去。
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Condition, then 才 + 能 + result.
Effort before a result
- you你many多variant of 说说，talent才能to come to an agreement说好。 — "Only by speaking a lot will you speak well."
- I我asked问(completed / change)了him他three times三次，him他only then才told告诉I我。 — "I asked him three times before he told me."
I我asked问了him他three times三次，he他only then才told告诉me我。
Build: “I asked him three times before he told me.”
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Effort, then subject + 才 + result.
Place only then才 before the result predicate
- Put only then才 after the subject of the result: him他only then才told告诉I我, not only then才him他told告诉I我.
- The simple result model here is him他only then才told告诉I我. Other contexts can allow (completed / change)了; the whole construction matters.
Which sentence is correct?
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才 follows the result-clause subject and precedes 来. These models do not impose a general ban on 了.
Stronger with only if只有
- Adding only if只有 explicitly makes this a necessary condition: only if只有finish做完homework作业，talent才能play玩games游戏。
- Without only if只有, …only then才… still implies the condition must come first.
only if只有finish做完homework作业，only then才can能play玩。
只有做完作业，才能玩游戏 makes finishing homework necessary, without proving it is sufficient by itself.
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Only if A, B makes A necessary for B. Other conditions can also apply.
Recap
- A，Subject + only then才 (can能/can / will会) + B = only after / only if A, B.
- only then才 follows the subject in this frame; only if只有 makes the condition necessary, without guaranteeing the result by itself.
Read the full reference: HSK 3 grammar — Conditional statements.
Your parents have one rule about screen time on school nights. 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.