chúfēi xiān zuò tǐjiǎn, fǒuzé chēguǎnsuǒ bùnéng shěnhé shēnqǐngcáiliào.

Unless you first have a medical examination, the vehicle administration office cannot review the application documents.

Breakdown of chúfēi xiān zuò tǐjiǎn, fǒuzé chēguǎnsuǒ bùnéng shěnhé shēnqǐngcáiliào.

• 做zuò: to do
• 先xiān: first
• 不能bùnéng: cannot; must not

Questions & Answers about chúfēi xiān zuò tǐjiǎn, fǒuzé chēguǎnsuǒ bùnéng shěnhé shēnqǐngcáiliào.

How does 除非 work in this sentence?

除非 means unless. It introduces the condition that must be met.

In this sentence:

• 除非先做体检 = unless (someone) first gets a medical examination

A very common pattern is:

• 除非……，否则…… = unless..., otherwise...

So the logic is:

• If the medical exam is not done first, the next action cannot happen.

A useful thing to remember: 除非 often sets up the only condition under which something is possible.

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Why is 否则 used here? Is it required?

否则 means otherwise.

So:

• 除非先做体检，否则车管所不能审核申请材料。 = Unless you first do the medical exam, otherwise the vehicle administration office cannot review the application materials.

In English, unless... otherwise... sounds a bit awkward if translated word for word, but in Chinese this pairing is very natural.

Is 否则 required?
Not always. The sentence could also be said as:

• 除非先做体检，车管所不能审核申请材料。

That is still understandable. But adding 否则 makes the contrast and consequence clearer and more explicit.

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Why is 先 placed before ?