Grammar

Some interesting verbal structures

We learned separately the verbs 放 fàng "to put" and 下 xià "to go down". By merging them together, we obtain a verb that corresponds to "leave aside". For instance:

我想暂时放下工作。 I would like to leave work aside (because I need to rest).

The same applies to 来 lái "to come" and 到 dào "to arrive" which means together "to coming and arrive", an expression that can hardly be translated into a single word in our language. For instance:

早上我们来到飞机场，导游已经在等我们了。 In the morning we arrived at the airport. The guide was already waiting for us.

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The causative form with 让

We have already seen the verb 让 ràng in level 2 lesson 10. We saw that it was used to ask someone to do something:

赵老师让我告诉你，明天没有考试。 Teacher Zhao asked me to tell you that tomorrow there is no exam.

In fact, it can be used in a broader sense, not just for people:

我要去旅游，让紧张的心情轻松一点儿。 I'm going to travel, to relax those stressing feelings a bit.

Reminder: 让 ràng can also mean "letting someone do something":

我父母不让我看电视。 My parents do not let me watch TV.

Finally, and it's something new and more difficult to understand, 让 ràng can be used to build the passive form:

书让小李拿走了。 The book was taken away by Xiaoli.

I give you this last use of 让 ràng for information only because you do not need to learn the passive form for now.

Structure with 才

只有放了假，她才能和我们一起去旅游。 It is only on holidays that she can go traveling with us.

In this sentence, the adverb 只 zhǐ "only" enhances the strict condition stated by 才 cái: it's only when she is on vacation that...

Please also note the use of the perfective aspect particle 了 le of the perfective aspect which is here neither in a past context nor a future. It marks the accomplishment of the action of being on vacation. Its use here is pretty clear with the strict condition of 才 cái because it is necessary that she is on vacation so that, finally and only, she can go traveling.