<p>司机及时停车，避免了一起交通事故。 = The driver stopped the car in time, (and) avoided a traffic accident.</p>
<p>司机及时停车[<strong>才</strong>]避免了一起交通事故。 = The driver avoided a traffic accident [<strong>only because</strong>] he stopped the car in time</p>
<p>[才] marks [司机及时停车] as the condition and [避免了一起交通事故] as the result</p>
<p>Another example:</p>
<p>有錢買車 = Have money to buy a car</p>
<p>有錢[<strong>才</strong>]買車 = Buy a car [<strong>only when</strong>] I have money</p>
<p>[才] marks [有錢] as the condition and [買車] as the result</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-07T12:50:33.097Z
2023-04-07T12:59:26.810Z
2023-04-07T12:59:26.810Z
Tang Ho
<p>You may also use 多亏 ··· 才··· together</p>
<p>多亏司机及时停车，才避免了一起交通事故。<br />
Thanks to the driver's timely halt, a traffic accident was averted.</p>
<p>多亏她，我才抱住性命。<br />
Thanks to her, I am still alive.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-09T01:56:59.360Z
2023-04-09T01:56:59.360Z
Pedroski
<p>司机及时停车，<strong>才</strong>避免了一起交通事故。= <strong>幸亏</strong>司机及时停车，<strong>才</strong>避免了一起交通事故。= We did not involve in the accident <strong>only because</strong> the driver stopped the vehicle in time.</p>
<p><strong>幸亏--，才--</strong>，= It is only because -- that --. This is a very popular sentence structure. Sometimes people just omit <strong>幸亏</strong> for short.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-07T18:15:58.447Z
2023-04-07T18:15:58.447Z
PdotWang
<p>才 is a particle for conditional clauses, similar to <strong>only by</strong>.</p>
<p>Depending on the reading, 及时停车 or 司机及时停车 is <strong>the</strong> condition that ensured 避免了一起交通事故. The first reading has the subject 司机 for the whole sentence, and translates as <strong>the drive avoided a traffic accident only by stopping the car in time</strong>. The second reading has the subject 司机 for the first clause and the event 司机及时停车 as the condition while 避免 has no subject. It translates as <strong>only by the fact that the driver stopped the car in time was a traffic accident avoided.</strong></p>
<p>Without 才, the sentence is just a simple clause with a complicate predicate, <em>the driver stopped the car in time and avoided a traffic accident</em>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-07T12:57:07.597Z
2023-04-07T12:57:07.597Z
lilysirius
<blockquote>
<p>司机及时停车,才避免了一起交通事故。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>司机及时停车 = The driver stopped his car timely.</p>
<p>Ignoring 才 , 才避免了一起交通事故 can be translated as &quot;avoided a traffic accident completely&quot;.</p>
<p>Above both translations were done by myself by the way.</p>
<p>I've been confusing understanding the role and the meaning of 才 here.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-12T23:26:59.080Z
Now i knew that 一起 which is used here works as a measure word lol. Had thought that this word is of "together, completely".
TG24
<grammar>
The role and the meaning of 才 inside 司机及时停车,才避免了一起交通事故。
# The role and the meaning of 才 inside 司机及时停车,才避免了一起交通事故。

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-04-07)

> 司机及时停车,才避免了一起交通事故。

司机及时停车 = The driver stopped his car timely.

Ignoring 才 , 才避免了一起交通事故 can be translated as "avoided a traffic accident completely".

Above both translations were done by myself by the way.

I've been confusing understanding the role and the meaning of 才 here.

**Tags:** grammar

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Now i knew that 一起 which is used here works as a measure word lol. Had thought that this word is of "together, completely".  

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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2023-04-07. Score: 0 | Accepted answer

司机及时停车，避免了一起交通事故。 = The driver stopped the car in time, (and) avoided a traffic accident.

司机及时停车[**才**]避免了一起交通事故。 = The driver avoided a traffic accident [**only because**] he stopped the car in time

[才] marks [司机及时停车] as the condition and [避免了一起交通事故] as the result

Another example:

有錢買車 = Have money to buy a car

有錢[**才**]買車 = Buy a car [**only when**] I have money

[才] marks [有錢] as the condition and [買車] as the result


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### Answer by username_2 on 2023-04-09. Score: 1

You may also use 多亏 ··· 才··· together

多亏司机及时停车，才避免了一起交通事故。  
Thanks to the driver's timely halt, a traffic accident was averted.

多亏她，我才抱住性命。  
Thanks to her, I am still alive.


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### Answer by username_3 on 2023-04-07. Score: 1

司机及时停车，**才**避免了一起交通事故。= **幸亏**司机及时停车，**才**避免了一起交通事故。= We did not involve in the accident **only because** the driver stopped the vehicle in time.

**幸亏--，才--**，= It is only because -- that --. This is a very popular sentence structure. Sometimes people just omit **幸亏** for short.


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### Answer by username_4 on 2023-04-07. Score: 1

才 is a particle for conditional clauses, similar to **only by**.

Depending on the reading, 及时停车 or 司机及时停车 is **the** condition that ensured 避免了一起交通事故. The first reading has the subject 司机 for the whole sentence, and translates as **the drive avoided a traffic accident only by stopping the car in time**. The second reading has the subject 司机 for the first clause and the event 司机及时停车 as the condition while 避免 has no subject. It translates as **only by the fact that the driver stopped the car in time was a traffic accident avoided.**

Without 才, the sentence is just a simple clause with a complicate predicate, *the driver stopped the car in time and avoided a traffic accident*.


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