Difference between revisions of "Expressing "just now" with "gangcai""
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* 老板 <em>刚才</em> <strong>生气</strong> 了。<span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn <em>gāngcái</em> <strong>shēngqì</strong> le. </span> <span class="trans">The boss just got angry. </span> | * 老板 <em>刚才</em> <strong>生气</strong> 了。<span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn <em>gāngcái</em> <strong>shēngqì</strong> le. </span> <span class="trans">The boss just got angry. </span> | ||
* 你们 <em>刚才</em> 在 <strong>看</strong> 什么？<span class="pinyin">Nǐmen <em>gāngcái</em> zài <strong>kàn</strong> shénme? </span> <span class="trans">What were you looking at just now? </span> | * 你们 <em>刚才</em> 在 <strong>看</strong> 什么？<span class="pinyin">Nǐmen <em>gāngcái</em> zài <strong>kàn</strong> shénme? </span> <span class="trans">What were you looking at just now? </span> | ||
| − | * 不好意思，我 <em>刚才</em> <strong>出去</strong> 了。<span class="pinyin"> | + | * 不好意思，我 <em>刚才</em> <strong>出去</strong> 了。<span class="pinyin">Bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ <em>gāngcái</em> <strong>chūqù</strong> le. </span> <span class="trans">I'm sorry, I just now stepped out. </span> |
* 宝宝 <em>刚才</em> <strong>哭</strong> 了。<span class="pinyin">Bǎobao <em>gāngcái</em> <strong>kū</strong> le.</span> <span class="trans">The baby just cried. </span> | * 宝宝 <em>刚才</em> <strong>哭</strong> 了。<span class="pinyin">Bǎobao <em>gāngcái</em> <strong>kū</strong> le.</span> <span class="trans">The baby just cried. </span> | ||
* 他们 <em>刚才</em> 去 <strong>开会</strong> 了。<span class="pinyin">Tāmen <em>gāngcái</em> qù <strong>kāihuì</strong> le. </span> <span class="trans">They just went to a meeting. </span> | * 他们 <em>刚才</em> 去 <strong>开会</strong> 了。<span class="pinyin">Tāmen <em>gāngcái</em> qù <strong>kāihuì</strong> le. </span> <span class="trans">They just went to a meeting. </span> | ||
Revision as of 07:22, 7 February 2017
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Keywords
In order to say that something "just now" occurred, use the time noun 刚才 (gāngcái). It can be placed in front of the verb or the subject of a statement.
Structure
This grammar structure is pretty straightforward. Similar to the English "just now," you can put 刚才 (gāngcái) right before the verb in a sentence. It can also come before or after the subject.
刚才 + Verb
Examples
- 你 刚才 说 什么 了？ What did you just say?
- 刚才 谁 来 了？ Who came just now?
- 刚才 你 去 哪儿 了？ Where did you go just now?
- 刚才 我 去 洗手间 了。 I just went to the washroom.
- 老板 刚才 生气 了。 The boss just got angry.
- 你们 刚才 在 看 什么？ What were you looking at just now?
- 不好意思，我 刚才 出去 了。 I'm sorry, I just now stepped out.
- 宝宝 刚才 哭 了。 The baby just cried.
- 他们 刚才 去 开会 了。 They just went to a meeting.
- 刚才 有 人 找 你。 Just now, there was someone looking for you.
Note that for all of those cases, we're talking about something that happened just now, as in, within the past 5 minutes or so. If you're talking about something that "just happened" yesterday or last week, don't use 刚才 (gāngcái), use 刚 (gāng).
See also
- Comparing "gang" and "gangcai"
- Explaining results with "suoyi"
- Cause and effect with "yinwei" and "suoyi"
- Stating the effect before the cause (advanced article)
Sources and further reading
Books
- 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (p. 217)→buy
