Invitation 2
Together is better!
To talk about doing something together with someone, use 跟 (gēn, with) before the person, and then add 一起 (yìqǐ, together).
希望你能跟妻子一起去派对。
(Xīwàng nǐ néng gēn qīzi yìqǐ qù pàiduì.) I hope you and your wife can go to the party. Literal: I hope you can go to the party together with your wife.
我可以跟我的朋友一起来吗？
(Wǒ kéyǐ gēn wǒ de péngyǒu yìqǐ lái ma?) Can my friend come with me? Literal: Can I come together with my friend?
你想跟我一起去派对吗？
(Nǐ xiǎng gēn wǒ yìqǐ qù pàiduì ma?) Do you want to go to the party with me? Literal: Do you want to go to the party together with me?
Better late than never
To say that something happened later than expected, say 才 (cái, only) after the time and before the verb. Even though in English we might say that we didn’t do something until a certain time, you would never use 才 in a negative sentence in Chinese.
我昨天晚上十一点才下班。
(Wǒ zuótiān wǎnshàng shíyī diǎn cái xiàbān.) I didn’t get off work until 11 p.m. last night. Literal: I only got off work at 11 last night.
她今天早上两点才回家。
(Tā jīntiān zǎoshang liǎng diǎn cái huí jiā.) She didn’t come home until 2 a.m. this morning. Literal: She only came home at two today morning.
我们下午四点才吃午饭。
(Wǒmen xiàwǔ sì diǎn cái chī wǔfàn.) We didn’t eat lunch until 4 p.m. in the afternoon. Literal: We only ate lunch at four in the afternoon.