Difference between revisions of "Expressing "just now" with "gangcai""
m (Text replacement - "</span> <span class=" to "</span><span class=") |
m (Text replacement - ". </span>" to ".</span>") |
||
| Line 20: | Line 20: | ||
* <em>刚才</em> 谁 <strong> 来 </strong> 了？<span class="pinyin"><em>Gāngcái</em> shéi <strong> lái </strong>le? </span><span class="trans">Who came just now? </span> | * <em>刚才</em> 谁 <strong> 来 </strong> 了？<span class="pinyin"><em>Gāngcái</em> shéi <strong> lái </strong>le? </span><span class="trans">Who came just now? </span> | ||
* <em>刚才</em> 你 <strong>去</strong> 哪儿 了？<span class="pinyin"><em>Gāngcái</em> nǐ <strong>qù</strong> nǎr le? </span><span class="trans">Where did you go just now? </span> | * <em>刚才</em> 你 <strong>去</strong> 哪儿 了？<span class="pinyin"><em>Gāngcái</em> nǐ <strong>qù</strong> nǎr le? </span><span class="trans">Where did you go just now? </span> | ||
| − | * <em>刚才</em> 我 <strong>去</strong> 洗手间 了。<span class="pinyin"><em>Gāngcái</em> wǒ <strong>qù</strong> xǐshǒujiān le. </span><span class="trans">I just went to the washroom. </span> | + | * <em>刚才</em> 我 <strong>去</strong> 洗手间 了。<span class="pinyin"><em>Gāngcái</em> wǒ <strong>qù</strong> xǐshǒujiān le.</span><span class="trans">I just went to the washroom.</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> | + | * 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">Bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ <em>gāngcái</em> <strong>chūqù</strong> le. </span><span class="trans">I'm sorry, I just now stepped out. </span> | + | * 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> |
| − | * <em>刚才</em> 有 人 <strong>找</strong> 你。<span class="pinyin"><em>Gāngcái</em> yǒu rén <strong> zhǎo</strong> nǐ. </span><span class="trans">Just now, there was someone looking for you. </span> | + | * <em>刚才</em> 有 人 <strong>找</strong> 你。<span class="pinyin"><em>Gāngcái</em> yǒu rén <strong> zhǎo</strong> nǐ.</span><span class="trans">Just now, there was someone looking for you.</span> |
</div> | </div> | ||
Revision as of 04:08, 24 May 2017
-
Level
-
Similar to
-
Used for
-
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
