Steps in order: 先…然后…再…
先 marks step one. 然后 opens the next clause; 再 does the same job from inside it, and is preferred for steps still to come.
结构
（主语）+ 先 + 动词1，然后 + 动词2 ｜ （主语）+ 先 + 动词1，（主语）+ 再 + 动词2
讲解
本文中的中文词语都可以激活，查看词典释义。
This is the frame for laying out a sequence of steps: ， “I’ll do my homework first, then watch TV.”
The pieces behave differently in the sentence. and are adverbs: they sit after the subject and directly in front of the verb — …，…. is a conjunction: it opens its clause, before the subject if one is stated — . Getting this wrong produces , which is the commonest error with the pattern.
and are not fully interchangeable. simply says “after that” and works for past, present and future alike. points at a step that has not happened yet, so it is at home in plans, instructions and suggestions — ， “Rest a bit first, then set off” — but not in a report of what you did yesterday. ， is wrong; use there.
The frame stretches to as many steps as you need: …，…，… “first…, then…, finally…”. And in recipes, directions and instructions it is extremely common, usually with in the first clause and in each following one: ，.
One small point: is not dropped just because the order is obvious. It is what tells the listener that a sequence is coming.
正确
Say each one out loud before moving on. The audio is a reference pronunciation, not a model to imitate exactly — match the tone contour, not the voice.
我先写作业，然后看电视。我先寫作業，然後看電視。
Wǒ (third tone, dipping) xiān (first tone, high and level) xiě (third tone, dipping) zuòyè, (fourth tone, falling) ránhòu (second tone, rising) kàn (fourth tone, falling) diànshì. (fourth tone, falling)···
I’ll do my homework first, then watch TV.
你先休息一下，再出发吧。你先休息一下，再出發吧。
Nǐ (third tone, dipping) xiān (first tone, high and level) xiūxi (first tone, high and level) yíxià, (second tone, rising) zài (fourth tone, falling) chūfā (first tone, high and level) ba. (neutral tone)···
Have a rest first, and set off after that.
请先排队，然后买票。請先排隊，然後買票。
Qǐng (third tone, dipping) xiān (first tone, high and level) páiduì, (second tone, rising) ránhòu (second tone, rising) mǎi (third tone, dipping) piào. (fourth tone, falling)···
Please queue first, then buy your ticket.
错误 — 常见错误
These sentences are wrong. They are printed here on purpose, each one paired with the repair and the reason, because the error you can recognise is the error you stop making.
不太对
Incorrect sentence: 先我写作业，然后看电视。
正确
Correct sentence: 我先写作业，然后看电视。
为什么: 先 is an adverb and belongs after the subject. Only 然后, a conjunction, may open the clause.
不太对
Incorrect sentence: 我昨天先去了超市，再回家了。
正确
Correct sentence: 我昨天先去了超市，然后回家了。
为什么: 再 points forward to a step still to come, so it cannot narrate yesterday. For a finished sequence use 然后.
不太对
Incorrect sentence: 我先写作业，看电视。
正确
Correct sentence: 我先写作业，然后看电视。
为什么: The second clause needs its own marker. Without 然后 or 再 the two clauses read as a list, not as an ordered sequence.
对比
Most errors with this pattern are not errors about this pattern — they are a neighbouring pattern arriving at the wrong moment. Read these side by side.
Both frames put two events in order, but they say different things about the gap between them. 一…就… insists there is none: 他一下课就回宿舍了 “He went straight back the moment class ended.” 先…然后… simply lists steps, and allows any amount of time in between: 我先写作业，然后看电视. If the point is speed or an automatic reaction, use 一…就…; if the point is the order of a plan or a procedure, use 先…然后…. Note also that 一…就… never takes 先.
As soon as: 一…就… →小测验
第 1 题 / 3总分: 0
Choose the word that fits: the speaker is describing what he did yesterday.
我昨天先去了超市，___ 回家了。