Expressing earliness with "jiu"

Nível: HSK 2 | Categoria: Gramática

            Fórmula Sintática: Subj. + Time + 就 + Verb
          

Explicação da Regra:

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. When something happens "right away," you're talking about "very soon" in the future. The pattern is as follows: Subj. + Time + 就 + Verb • 我马上就来。Wǒ mǎshàng jiù lái.I'll be there in a second. • 米饭二十分钟就好。Mǐfàn èrshí fēnzhōng jiù hǎo.The rice will be ready in 20 minutes. • 你们现在就出门吗？Nǐmen xiànzài jiù chūmén ma?Are you leaving the house right now? • 他们一会儿就到。Tāmen yīhuìr jiù dào.They will be here in a few minutes. • 老板明天就回来。Lǎobǎn míngtiān jiù huílái.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.

Exemplos com Falantes Nativos:

我马上就来。 (wǒ mǎshàng jìu lái 。): "I will be here soon."
米饭二十分钟就好。 (mǐfàn èrshí fēnzhōng jìu hǎo 。): "Rice is just twenty minutes."
你们现在就出门吗？ (nǐmen xiànzài jìu chūmén ma ？): "Are you going out now?"
他们一会儿就到。 (tāmen yīhùiér jìu dào 。): "They will arrive in a moment."

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