Difference between revisions of "Expressing earliness with "jiu""
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* 她 十八 岁 <em>就</em> 大学 毕业 了。 | * 她 十八 岁 <em>就</em> 大学 毕业 了。 | ||
* 我们 上次 出去 玩，他 九点 <em>就</em> 回去 了。 | * 我们 上次 出去 玩，他 九点 <em>就</em> 回去 了。 | ||
| + | * 我 五 点 钟 <em>就</em> 到 了 饭馆，你 让 我 等 这么 久，罚 你 请客！ | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
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| + | 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. | ||
== Sources and further reading == | == Sources and further reading == | ||
Revision as of 02:39, 19 October 2011
Just as 才 can express lateness, 就 can be used to indicate that something happened earlier than expected. The structure is:
Subject + Time + 就 + Verb + Object
In English this might be expressed with "as early as", but usually it's not specifically marked.
Some examples:
- 我们 早上 九点 上课，可是 他 八点 就 来了。
- 她 十八 岁 就 大学 毕业 了。
- 我们 上次 出去 玩，他 九点 就 回去 了。
- 我 五 点 钟 就 到 了 饭馆，你 让 我 等 这么 久，罚 你 请客！
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.
Sources and further reading
Websites
- East Asia Student: 就 and 才 in Mandarin: as early as, not until
