Degree, probability and speaker expectations

比较好 relatively good; 还不错 fairly good; 更好 better; 特别好 especially good; 挺好 quite good; 有些累 somewhat tired; 越来越好 increasingly good; 好极了 excellent. Extreme 极 is naturally postverbal in 极了 here.

Pitfall: 极 commonly appears in the complement 极了; do not assign identical positions to all degree words.

就我一个人 only me; 一块儿去 go together; 一共十元 ten yuan total; 只买一个 buy only one; 到处都是人 people everywhere; 我只是问问 I am only asking. Scope follows the specific phrase modified.

Pitfall: 就 may restrict scope in context; it does not always mean then.

他八点才来: he comes as late as eight in context. 马上走 leave at once; 先吃饭 eat first; 等一会儿 wait a moment; 刚/刚刚到 just arrived; 一直在等 have been waiting continuously. 刚才 as a time noun has a different distribution from adverb 刚.

Pitfall: 刚刚 is relative to a reference time, not always the moment of speaking.

Pitfall: Use 再 for many planned repetitions; the distinction is contextual rather than pure tense.

Pitfall: Choose actions that can plausibly overlap.

大概会来 probably will come; 必须来 must come; 差不多一样 approximately alike; 一定会来 certainly will come; 好像来过 seems to have come before; 几乎忘了 almost forgot. The evidential strength is different in each expression.

Pitfall: 必须 describes necessity, not merely high probability.

当然可以 of course you may; 其实不知道 actually do not know; 终于完成 finally finish. 才八块钱 treats eight as little; 八点才来 treats eight as late; 八点就来 can treat eight as early. These are contextual examples, not a reassignment of the source's numbered sense labels.

Pitfall: 终于 normally needs a sense of prior waiting or difficulty.

Pitfall: 不能等 or 不许等 would express a different restriction.