每日中文 Daily ZhongWen

20 Chinese Grammar Points about "就"


  • 1. 就 - Adv.| already
    The Adv.就 can express that something happened earlier than expected or the result can be achieved easily.
  • 2. 就 - Adv.| only
    The Adv.就 means "only" in the sentence.
  • 3. 就 - Adv.| at once/right off
    就 can be used to imply an action that will be done without delay.
  • 4. 就 - Adv.| then
    The Adv.就 means "then" in the sentence.
  • 5. 就 - Adv.|就会,就要
    就 can be used with 会/要+了 to indicate that an event is going to happen very soon. 就要 is similar to 就会, meaning "will/about to."
  • 6. 就 - Adv.|才 vs.就
    Both 才 and 就, when placed before verbs, can express time. However, 才 implies it is later than usual, while 就 implies it is earlier than expected.
  • 7. 就 - Adv.| Expressing indifference
    就 can show an attitude of "I don't care".
  • 8. 就 - Prep.| With regard to, on
    When used as a preposition, 就 could mean "With regard to, on".
  • 9. 就 - Verb| move towards
    When used as a verb, 就 could mean "move towards; go to; enter etc."
  • 10. Conj.|就算,就连 even if
    就算/就连 are informal ways to say "even if", 就算⋯⋯又怎么样?Even if..., so what?
  • 11. Conj.| 一-就 as soon as
    The conjunction 一-就 means "as soon as" and indicates that the 2nd action immediately follows/followed the 1st action. The subject in the 2nd clause must come before 就。And when the subject is the same in both clauses, there is no need to repeat the subject.
  • 12. Conj.| 早在-就 as early as
    就 can express "as early as".
  • 13.  Conj.| 只要-就 as long as
    只要⋯⋯就 means "as long as" in English.
  • 14.  Conj.| 如果/要是+就 If-then
    如果/要是-就 means "If-then" in English.
  • 15.  Conj.| 不是-就是
    不是-就是 can describe a situation as being one of only two possibilities.
  • 16. 就 - 就是,就在
    The adverb 就 can be placed before the predicate-在/是 to emphasize, similar to "just, exactly".
  • 17. 就 - Hypothetical situation
    要是-就 indicates a hypothetical situation, the modal particle 了 is often used at the end of sentence.
  • 18. 就 - Imperative sentence
    就 can be used to make an Imperative sentence.
  • 19. 就 - Question:吗
    就 can be used with 吗 to raise a question.
  • 20. 就 - Whatever, however
    就 can work as "Whatever, however".