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<title>Expressing earliness with "jiu"</title>
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<h1>Expressing earliness with "jiu"
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<p>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.</p>

<h2>Contents</h2>
<ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">1 Used as "Right Away" (in the Future) </span><br/></li>
<ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">1.1 Structure </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">1.2 Examples </span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">2 Used as "Early" (in the Past) </span><br/></li>
<ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">2.1 Structure </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">2.2 Examples </span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">3 Colloquial Saying 早就 </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">4 See also </span><br/></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">5 Sources and further reading </span><br/></li>
<ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">5.1 Books </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">5.2 Websites
Used as "Right Away" (in the Future)</span></li>
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<div><h2>When something happens "right away," you're talking about "very soon" in the future.</h2>

<h3>Structure</h3>

<p>The pattern is as follows:</p>

<div class="deux">Subj. + Time + 就 + Verb</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">我 马上 就 来 。
Wǒ mǎshàng jiù lái.
I'll be there in a second. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">米饭 二十 分钟 就 好 。
Mǐfàn èrshí fēnzhōng jiù hǎo.
The rice will be ready in 20 minutes. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">你们 现在 就 出门 吗 ？
Nǐmen xiànzài jiù chūmén ma?
Are you leaving the house right now? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">他们 一会儿 就 到 。
Tāmen yīhuìr jiù dào.
They will be here in a few minutes. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">老板 明天 就 回来 。
Lǎobǎn míngtiān jiù huílái.
The boss will be back tomorrow.</span><br/></li>
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<p>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.</p>

<h2>Used as "Early" (in the Past)</h2>

<h3>Structure</h3>

<p>In English this use of 就 might be expressed with "as early as," but usually it's not specifically marked.</p>

<div class="deux">Subj. + Time Point + 就 + Verb + 了</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">我们 九点 上课 ，他 八点 就 来 了 。
Wǒmen jiǔ diǎn shàngkè, tā bā diǎn jiù lái le.
We have class at nine, but he came in at eight. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">飞机 十点 起飞 ，他 六点 就 到 机场 了 。
Fēijī shí diǎn qǐfēi, tā liù diǎn jiù dào jīchǎng le.
The plane left at ten, but he arrived at the airport at six. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">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. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">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.</span><br/></li>
</ul>
</div>

<p>Not only can 就 emphasize "time point," but can also emphasize "time period," indicating "very fast."</p>

<div class="deux">Subj. + Time Period + 就 + Verb + 了</div>

<p>A few examples:</p>

<div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">你 一 个 晚上 就 看 完 了 ？
Nǐ yī gè wǎnshang jiù kàn wán le?
It only took you just one night to finish reading it? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">他 十 分钟 就 做完 了 。
Tā shí fēnzhōng jiù zuò wán le.
It only took him ten minutes to finish doing it.</span><br/></li>
</ul>
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<p>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.</p>

<h3>Colloquial Saying 早就</h3>

<p>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.</p>

<div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">我 早就 知道 了 ！
Wǒ zǎo jiù zhīdào le!
I knew that long ago! </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">她 早就 结婚 了 。
Tā zǎo jiù jiéhūn le.
She got married a long time ago. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">他们 早就 分手 了 。
Tāmen zǎo jiù fēnshǒu le.
They broke up a long time ago. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">我们 早就 毕业 了 。
Wǒmen zǎo jiù bìyè le.
We graduated a long time ago! </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">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.</span><br/></li>
</ul>
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<h2>See also</h2>

<div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Comparing "cai" and "jiu" </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Events in quick succession with "yi... jiu" </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Expressing indifference with "jiu" </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">"If…, then…" with "ruguo…, jiu…" </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Expressing lateness with "cai" </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Sources and further reading</span><br/></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h2>Books</h2>

<div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (pp. 181-2) →buy </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp. 102-3) →buy
40 </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (pp. 239) →buy </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Websites

East Asia Student: 就 and 才 in Mandarin: as early as, not until</span><br/></li>
</ul>
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