The use of and

Exercises

1. Where should I place in a sentence?

is an adverb, and it should always be placed before a verb or stative verb.

wŏmen xué wán lezhè kè kèwén

我们 课文

WE STUDY FINISH LE THIS KE LESSON

tā jiù néng huí jiā

HE JIU CAN BACK HOME

He can go home as soon as we finish studying this lesson.

wŏ yì shuōhuà

我一 说话

I AS SOON AS SPEAK

tā jiù xiào

HE JIU LAUGH

As soon as I speak he’ll laugh.

I

bā diăn jiù lái le

8 O’ CLOCK JIU COME LE

I came here as early as 8 o’clock.

2. How do I use to imply an action takes place earlier than I have expected?

can be placed after a time word to comment on the time which is earlier than you have expected.

HE

jiŭ diăn jiù lái le xuéxiào

九点 了学校

9 O’ CLOCK JIU COME LE SCHOOL

He came to school as early as nine o'clock.

Comparing with 他九点来了学校. He came to school at 9.

3. Can be used to imply anything else apart from “earlier than expected”?

can also be used to indicate that a preceded number word is a small number.

liăng ge rén

个人

TWO GE PEOPLE

jiù néng bàn hăo

JIUCAN DEAL WITH WELL/COMPLETE

......

It only takes two people to complete the job.

This sentence implies that the job is an easy one, and it only takes two people to complete. The speaker thinks two is a small number. 两个人能办好. It takes two people to complete the job. The speaker states a fact. The sentence has neither implicated the easiness nor the size of the number, which the above one has.

4. What are the implications if is used in the above sentences?

The adverb is opposite to in meaning.

tā jiŭ diăn cái lái liăng ge rén cái néng bàn hăo

他九 来。 好。

HE 9 O’ CLOCK CAI COME TWO GE PEOPLE CAI COULD DEAL WITH WELL/COMPLETE

He came as late as 9 o’clock.This job would take as many as two people, before it can be finished

As indicated above, normally doesn’t take the particle for completed actions.

5. Can be used for other purposes?

can also be used for emphasis.

tā jiù shi wŏde lăoshī 是我的 老师 HE JIU IS MY TEACHER He is my teacher.
jiù măi zhèxiē 这些 JIU BUY THESE I’ll just buy these.
wŏ jiù bú qù zhōngguó 去中国 I JIU NOT GO CHINA I certainly don’t go to China.

is used in the following sentence constructions.

The following example shows that is used to indicate that first action is immediately followed by second action.

s. v.1 o.1

v.2 o.2 ( )

tā xiàle kè

他下了课

HE FINISHLE LESSON

jiù qù tú shū guăn le 图书馆

JIU GOLIBRARY LE

He went to the library after the class.

can also be used to indicate that as soon as the first action takes place, the second action will happen. The following pattern indicates that as soon as the action in the clause takes place, then it will be followed by the action which is in the clause. Both and are adverbs, which should be placed before verbs. This pattern is often seen in a four-character expression.

s. v.1(o.1)

v.2 (o.2)

tā yì shōu

他一说

HE YI SPEAK

wŏ jiù kū

I JIU CRY

A soon as he speaks I’ll start crying.

The difference between the above two examples is that the second example can be used for general descriptions, but the first is for a particular situation.

can be used in a conditional sentence.

Reasons/conditions

consequences

shū tàijiùle

BOOK TOO OLDLE

wŏ jiù bă tārēng le

把它

IJIU BA ITTHROW LE

The book was too old ,so I’ve thrown it away.

yàoshi nĭ bù xiăng qù zhōngguó

要是你 中国

IF YOU NOT WANT GO CHINA

jiù bié xué hànyŭ 汉语

JIU DON’T LEARN CHINESE

If you don’t want to go to China, then don’t learn Chinese.

is also used in a sentence pattern, which indicates about to ... nearly.... 就要... indicates an imminent action. The imminent action is placed between 就要 and . Time words can also be placed between 就要 and .

v. o. / time words

jiùyào

就要

ABOUT TO

xià kè

FINISH CLASS

le

LE

The class is about to finish.

jiùyào

就要

NEARLY

shí diăn

10 O’ CLOCK

le

LE

It is nearly ten o’ clock.

6. Can and be used in a same sentence?

Yes, it is possible. The following sentence shows that is used for emphasis in the first clause, in the second clause indicates the outcome of what has happened in the first clause.

jiùshiyīnweitā bùhăohao xuéxí wŏ cái dă tā de

学习,

JIU BE BECAUSE HE NOT WELL STUDY I CAI HIT HIM DE

I only hit him because he didn’t study hard enough.

Exercises

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Translate the following sentences into Chinese.

1. I had waited for him for two hours before he came back.

2. Today he was early. He came at 8 o’clock.

3. That matter is very hard to deal with; only Mr. Wang is clever enough to do it.

4. There are only three of us; I think one bottle of wine will be enough.

5. It’s almost news time. Shall we watch the news in a minute?

6. This term will soon be over. Where are you going for your holidays?

7. As soon as the exam results come out we will know who is the best student.

8. Just because a student has the best exam result doesn’t mean that she is the best student.

Place the following words in the right order.

1. 不去学校了, 十点了,已经, 就, 太晚了

2. 三瓶茅台, 十个人, 就, 我们, 够了

3. 一说, 就, 哭, 我,

4. 你,学习, 考试, 考不好, 要是, 就,你不好好地,