Expressing lateness with "cai"

To express that something happened later than expected, you can use 才. The structure is:

Subject + Time + 才 + Verb + Object

In English this might be expressed with "as late as" or "not until". Some examples:

• 我们 十点 上课，可是 他 十点一刻 才 来。
• 昨天 晚上 我的 女儿 一点半 才 回家。
• 他 二十八 岁 才 拿到 驾驶执照。

Note that verbs following 才 cannot take 了，as the action does not have the sense of being completed. So, in the above situation, it is wrong to say:

• 昨天晚上我的女儿一点半才回家了

See also

• Expressing earliness with "jiu"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 117 - 118) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (pp. 139)　→buy

Websites

• East Asia Student: 就 and 才 in Mandarin: as early as, not until