先…再… (first… then) and 马上 (right away)
【一11】【一12】时间副词“先、马上”、重复副词“再”
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
先 (xiān) = “first”; 再 (zài) = “then”. Both adverbs go before the verb to order two actions: 我先吃饭，再去学校.
再 also means “again” for a future action: 我们明天再去看吧 (let's go and see it again tomorrow), 请再说一次 (please say it again).
马上 (mǎshàng) = “right away, immediately”: 医生马上来 (the doctor is coming right away).
All of them go after the subject, never at the end of the sentence.
Examples
我先洗手，再吃饭。
Wǒ xiān xǐ shǒu, zài chī fàn.I wash my hands first, then eat.
老师，我先说吧。
Lǎoshī, wǒ xiān shuō ba.Teacher, let me go first.
今天的电影太好看了，我们明天再去看吧。
Jīntiān de diànyǐng tài hǎokàn le, wǒmen míngtiān zài qù kàn ba.Today's movie was great, let's go and see it again tomorrow.
医生马上来。
Yīshēng mǎshàng lái.The doctor is coming right away.
Common mistakes
✗ 我吃饭先 → ✓ 我先吃饭.
✗ 马上我来 as a neutral statement → ✓ 我马上来.
再 = future repetition; past repetition uses 又 (level 2).