Just as 才 (cái) can express lateness, 就 (jiù) can be
used to indicate that something happened earlier or sooner than
expected. It can also be used in the near future to indicate
something will happen very soon.
就 as "Right Away" (in the
Future)
When something happens "right away," you're talking about "very
soon" in the future.
Structure
The pattern is as follows:
Subj. + Time Word + 就 + Verb
Examples
- 我 马上 就 来 。Wǒ mǎshàng jiù
lái.I'll be there in a
second.
- 饭 很 快 就 好 。Fàn hěn kuài
jiù hǎo.Dinner will be ready
very soon.
- 你们 现在 就 出门 吗 ？Nǐmen xiànzài
jiù chūmén ma?Are you leaving
the house right now?
- 他们 一会儿 就 到 。Tāmen yīhuìr
jiù dào.They will be here in a
few minutes.
- 老板 明天 就 回来 。Lǎobǎn míngtiān
jiù huílái.The boss will be
back tomorrow.
Note that it can sometimes be hard to translate the feeling of
"soonness" into English, but in every one of these examples, the
time given in the sentences feels "soon" to the
speaker.
就 as "Early" (in the Past)
Structure
The pattern is as follows:
Subj. + Time Word + 就 + Verb + Obj. + 了
Examples
In English this use of 就 might be expressed with "as early as,"
but usually it's not specifically marked.
- 我 昨晚 八 点 半 就 睡觉 了 。Wǒ zuówǎn bā
diǎn bàn jiù shuìjiào le.I went
to bed at eight thirty last night.
- 这个 问题 他 十 分钟 就 解决 了 。Zhège wèntí
tā shí fēnzhōng jiù jiějué le.It only took him ten minutes to solve this
problem.
- 这 本 书 你 一 个 晚上 就 看 完 了 ？Zhè běn
shū nǐ yī gè wǎnshang jiù kàn wán le?It only took you just one night to finish reading this
book?
- 她 十八 岁 就 大学 毕业 了。Tā shíbā suì
jiù dàxué bìyè le.She graduated
from college when she was only 18 years old.
- 我们 早上 九点 上课，他 八点 就 来 了。Wǒmen
zǎoshang jiǔ diǎn shàngkè, tā bā diǎn jiù lái
le.We have class at nine in the morning,
and he came at eight.
From the example sentences it is clear that 了 naturally occurs with a verb
used after 就. This is because verbs following 就 generally have the
feeling of being completed.
Usage of 早就
早就 means "long ago," and is usually used to express a kind of
impatience or surprise on the part of the speaker. It comes before
the verb.
- 我 早就 知道 了！Wǒ zǎo jiù
zhīdào le!I knew that long
ago!
- 她 早就 结婚 了。Tā zǎo jiù
jiéhūn le.She got married long time
ago.
- 我们 早就 毕业 了。Wǒmen zǎo jiù
bìyè le.We graduated a long time
ago!
- 我 早就 跟 你 说 过，他 不 是 好人。Wǒ zǎo
jiù gēn nǐ shuō guo, tā bù shì hǎo rén.I told you a long time ago that he's not a good
guy.
- 这 家 店 早就 关门 了。Zhè jiā diàn
zǎo jiù guānmén le.This shop
closed a long time ago.
See also
Sources and further
reading
Books
Websites
Category:B1 grammar points Category: Adverbs