Expressing "all the way until" with "zhidao"

用于描述过去发生的事时，后半句常常用"才"或"都"连接。

Affirmative Pattern

Structure

直到 + Time / Event ，Subj. + 才 + Predicate

Examples

• 直到 十二 点 半 ，我 才 做 完 作业 。Zhídào shí'èr diǎn bàn, wǒ cái zuò wán zuòyè.It wasn't until half past twelve in the morning that I finished homework.
• 直到 离开 家 ，我 才 知道 家 有 多 好。Zhídào wǒ líkāi jiā , wǒ cái zhīdào jiā yǒu duō hǎo.I didn't realize how great it is to be at home until I left home.
• 直到 大学 毕业 ，我 才 开始 一个人 住 。Zhídào dàxué bìyè, wǒ cái kāishǐ yī gèrén zhù.It wasn't until I graduated from college that I started living alone.
• 她 直到 十八 岁 才 见到 亲生 父母 。Tā zhídào shíbā suì cái jiàndào qīnshēng fùmǔ.It wasn't until she was eighteen that she met her biological parents.
• 直到 去 了 北京 ，他 才 知道 大 城市 的 生活 多么 不 容易 。Zhídào qù le Běijīng, tā cái zhīdào dà chéngshì de shēnghuó duōme bù róngyì.It wasn't until he went to Beijing that he began to understand that life in a big city is not easy.

Negative Pattern

Structure

直到 + Time / Event ，Subj. + 都 + 不 / 没 + Predicate

Examples

• 我 认识 他 一年 多 了，直到 现在 ，我 都 不 知道 他 的 全名 。Wǒ rènshi tā yī nián duō le, zhídào xiànzài, wǒ dōu bù zhīdào tā de quánmíng.I've known him for more than one year, but I still don't know his full name now.
• 直到 他 死 ，我们 都 没 见 过 。Zhídào tā sǐ, wǒmen dōu méi jiàn guo.We never met till his death.