Limiting scope with "jiu"
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Level
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Similar to
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Used for
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Keywords
"Limiting scope" is like saying, "what I'm about to say applies to just this. You proceed the "this" with 就 (jiù) in this pattern.
Contents
Just "就"
"就” can be placed in the middle of the sentence to indicate the object or scope of the subject's activities such as observation, discussion, analysis, and explanation.
Basic Structure
Subj. + 就 + 活动的对象或者范围 + Verb + Obj.
Examples
- 两国 领导人 就 环保 问题 交换 了 意见。
- 我 就 这个 问题 说 两 点 我的 想法。
- 大家 就 中国互联网的发展发表了各自的看法。Everybody expressed their own thoughts on China's internet development.
- 中国主席 就 中国最近的经济改革做了发言。China's chairman made a statement on China's recent economic reforms.
- 来自各国的教育学者们 就 什么是最好的教育方法进行了激烈的讨论。 Education experts from each and every country had a heated discussion on the best methods of education.
Pattern with "就"
Structure
就 (jiù) can be used to limit the scope of a comment, used in the following structure:
就 + Topic + (来说 / 而言) + Comment
This emphasizes that the speaker is just commenting on that particular topic and nothing else, like "just with regards to" in English. In this sense it is similar to 至于, but is generally used to introduce a new idea, rather than to move on from a previous related topic.
Note that in the pattern above, 来说 is more informal, and 而言 is more formal.
Examples
- 就 中国 的 独生子女 政策 而言，专家 各 有 各 的 看法。As for China's One Child Policy, every expert has their own opinion.
- 就 文化大革命 而言，大部分 的 人 都 认为 那 是 一 场 灾难。As for the Cultural Revolution, a large part of the people think it was a disaster.
- 就 整体 而言，这 幅 画 不错，但是 有 一些 细节 还是 要注意。
- 就 这些 事情 来说，他 没有 错。In regards to these sorts of things, he didn't do anything wrong.
- 就 我们家 来说，要求 还是 很多的，比如 晚上 十二点 以前 必须 回家。
When used in this sense, 就 is generally only used in written Chinese.
See also
Sources and Further Reading
- 现代汉语虚词例释 (pp. 306) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy
