Difference between revisions of "Expressing earliness with "jiu""
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| − | *我 <em>早就</em> 知道 了 ！<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>zǎo jiù</em> zhīdào le!</span><span class="trans">I knew that long ago!</span> | + | *我 <em>早就</em> 知道 <strong>了</strong> ！<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>zǎo jiù</em> zhīdào le!</span><span class="trans">I knew that long ago!</span> |
| − | *她 <em>早就</em> 结婚 了 。<span class="pinyin">Tā <em>zǎo jiù</em> jiéhūn le.</span><span class="trans">She got married long time ago.</span> | + | *她 <em>早就</em> 结婚 <strong>了</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Tā <em>zǎo jiù</em> jiéhūn le.</span><span class="trans">She got married long time ago.</span> |
| − | * | + | *他们 <em>早就</em> 分手 <strong>了</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Tāmen <em>zǎo jiù</em> fēnshǒu <strong>le</strong>.</span><span class="trans">They broke up a long time ago.</span> |
| − | * | + | *我们 <em>早就</em> 毕业 <strong>了</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen <em>zǎo jiù</em> bìyè le.</span><span class="trans">We graduated a long time ago!</span> |
| − | * | + | *我 <em>早就</em> 跟 你 说 <strong>过</strong> ，他 不 是 好人 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>zǎo jiù</em> gēn nǐ shuō <strong>guo</strong>, tā bù shì hǎo rén.</span><span class="trans">I told you a long time ago that he's not a good guy.</span> |
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Revision as of 02:36, 12 December 2017
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Level
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Used for
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Keywords
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.
Contents
Used 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 + 就 + Verb
Examples
- 我 马上 就 来 。I'll be there in a second.
- 米饭 二十 分钟 就 好 。The rice will be ready in 20 minutes.
- 你们 现在 就 出门 吗 ？Are you leaving the house right now?
- 他们 一会儿 就 到 。They will be here in a few minutes.
- 老板 明天 就 回来 。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.
Used as "Early" (in the Past)
Structure
Subj. + Time + 就 + Verb + 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 。I went to bed at eight thirty last night.
- 这个 问题 他 十 分钟 就 解决 了 。It only took him ten minutes to solve this problem.
- 这 本 书 你 一 个 晚上 就 看 完 了 ？It only took you just one night to finish reading this book?
- 她 十八 岁 就 大学 毕业 了 。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 。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.
Colloquial Saying 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 ！I knew that long ago!
- 她 早就 结婚 了 。She got married long time ago.
- 他们 早就 分手 了 。They broke up a long time ago.
- 我们 早就 毕业 了 。We graduated a long time ago!
- 我 早就 跟 你 说 过 ，他 不 是 好人 。I told you a long time ago that he's not a good guy.
See also
- Comparing "cai" and "jiu"
- Events in quick succession with "yi... jiu"
- Expressing indifference with "jiu"
- "If…, then…" with "ruguo…, jiu…"
Sources and further reading
Books
- Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (pp. 181-2) →buy
- New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp. 102-3) →buy
- 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (p. 239)→buy
Websites
- East Asia Student: 就 and 才 in Mandarin: as early as, not until
