The structures 先…然后… and 先…再/又…然后…
We use these patterns to express what happens first and what happens next.
The order of the two actions
To show the order of the actions, we should use the structure 先…然后… 
.
.Scheme
先
action 1
然后
action 2
Pay attention
Sometimes 先 can be omitted.
Examples
我先去浴室洗澡，然后吃早饭
I'll go to the bathroom and take a shower, and then I’ll have breakfast
wǒ xiān qù yùshì xǐzǎo, ránhòu chī zǎofàn
我去上课，然后回家
I go to class and then go home
wǒ qù shàngkè, ránhòu huí jiā
These sentences can have one or two subjects.
If there is one subject, it may be stated either before or after 先.
Scheme
who
先
(who)
action 1
然后
action 2
Examples
先我去银行，然后回家
First I’ll go to the bank, then I’ll go home
xiān wǒ qù yínháng, ránhòu huí jiā
他们先单独照相，然后合影
They were first photographed individually and then together
tāmen xiān dāndú zhàoxiàng, ránhòu héyǐng
If there are two subjects in the sentence, we should state the first after 先 and state the second after 然后.
Scheme
先
who 1
action 1
然后
who 2
action 2
Examples
先我去，然后你去
First I'll go, then you’ll go
xiān wǒ qù, ránhòu nǐ qù
We also can use 才 before the predicate and after 然后 to emphasize “and only then…”.
before the predicate and after 然后 to emphasize “and only then…”.Examples
我通常先浏览一本书然后才决定是否买它
I usually browse a book before I decide whether to buy it or not.
wǒ tōngcháng xiān liúlǎn yì běn shū ránhòu cái juédìng shìfǒu mǎi tā
先问一些大概的问题，然后才开始具体到细节
Ask general questions first, and only ask detailed questions after that
xiān wèn yìxiē dàgài de wèntí, ránhòu cái kāishǐ jùtǐ dào xìjié
The order of three or more actions
If you want to express the order of three actions, you have to state 再 or 又 before the second action.
We use 再 when we are talking about regular actions or actions in the future, and we use 又 if we are talking about actions in the past.
or 又 before the second action.
We use 再 when we are talking about regular actions or actions in the future, and we use 又 if we are talking about actions in the past.Scheme
先
action 1
再/又
action 2
然后
action 3
Examples
这次旅行我们先去了北京，又去了西安，然后去了南京
On this trip we firstly went to Beijing, secondly to Xi'an and lastly to Nanjing
zhè cì lǚxíng wǒmen xiān qù le běijīng, yòu qù le xī'ān, ránhòu qù le nánjīng
我每天六点起床，先刷牙，再锻炼身体，然后吃早饭
I get up at six every day, brush my teeth, then exercise, then eat breakfast
wǒ měi tiān liù diǎn qǐchuáng, xiān shuāyá, zài duànliàn shēntǐ, ránhòu chī zǎofàn
If you need to express the order of three or more actions, you can additionally state the word 最后 before the last action.
before the last action.Scheme
先
action 1
然后
action 2
...
然后
last action
Examples
先限定每天两个小时，然后减到1.5小时，慢慢地到1小时，最后到30分钟
First it was limited to two hours per day; then it was reduced to 1.5 hours; then it was slowly reduced to 1 hour; and finally it was reduced to 30 minutes
xiān xiàndìng měi tiān liǎng ge xiǎoshí, ránhòu jiǎn dào yí ge bàn xiǎoshí, mànman de dào yí ge xiǎoshí, zuìhòu dào sānshí fēnzhōng