Difference between revisions of "Expressing "again" in the future with "zai""

Revision as of 06:53, 6 January 2012

While 又 is used for "again" in the past, 再 is used for "again" in the future. That is, 再 is used when something has happened once and it will happen again.

再 as "Again"

The basic structure for using the future "again" is:

Subject + 再 + Verb + Object

Some examples:

再说一次吧。
你不要再迟到。
我下次再来。

再 as "And then"

A usage that feels sort of related but deserves separate mention is the use of 再 to mean "and then." It is often preceded by 先 when giving clear sequential orders ("first do this... then do this..."), but it can also appear by itself to mean "and then."

The examples:

我们先吃饭再谈。
你先找工作再考虑买房子。
我们吃了饭再去。

再 as "Another"

The English word "another" is often avoided altogether by using 再.

Examples:

你再给我一张纸。
我们再找一个人吧。
她想再创造一个新的作品。

Sources and further reading

Books

Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 157) →buy
New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp. 202) →buy

@@ Line 59: / Line 59: @@
 === Books ===
+* [[Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1]] (pp. 157) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276792/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276792 →buy]
 * [[New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3)]] (pp. 202) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/756191251X/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=756191251X →buy]
 [[Category:B1 grammar points]]