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The use of 就 and 才
1. Where should I place 就 in a sentence?
就 is an adverb, and it should always be placed before a verb or stative verb.
He can go home as soon as we finish studying this lesson.
As soon as I speak he’ll laugh.
I came here as early as 8 o’clock.
2. How do I use 就 to imply an action takes place earlier than I have expected?
就 can be placed after a time word to comment on the time which is earlier than you have expected.
He came to school as early as nine o'clock. Comparing with 他九点来了学校. He came to school at 9.
3. Can 就 be used to imply anything else apart from “earlier than expected”?
就 can also be used to indicate that a preceded number word is a small number.
It only takes two people to complete the job. This sentence implies that the job is an easy one, and it only takes two people to complete. The speaker thinks two is a small number. 两个人能办好. It takes two people to complete the job. The speaker states a fact. The sentence has neither implicated the easiness nor the size of the number, which the above one has.
4. What are the implications if 才 is used in the above sentences?
The adverb 才 is opposite to 就 in meaning. tā jiŭ diăn cái lái liăng ge rén cái néng bàn hăo 他九 点 才 来。 两 个 人 才能 办 好。 HE 9 O’ CLOCK CAI COME TWO GE PEOPLE CAI COULD DEAL WITH WELL/COMPLETE He came as late as 9 o’clock. This job would take as many as two people, before it can be finished
As indicated above, 才 normally doesn’t take the particle 了 for completed actions.
5. Can 就 be used for other purposes?
就 can also be used for emphasis.
就 is used in the following sentence constructions.
The following example shows that 就 is used to indicate that first action is immediately followed by second action.
He went to the library after the class.
就 can also be used to indicate that as soon as the first action takes place, the second action will happen. The following pattern indicates that as soon as the action in the 一 clause takes place, then it will be followed by the action which is in the 就 clause. Both 一 and 就 are adverbs, which should be placed before verbs. This pattern is often seen in a four-character expression.
A soon as he speaks I’ll start crying. The difference between the above two examples is that the second example can be used for general descriptions, but the first is for a particular situation.
就 can be used in a conditional sentence.
The book was too old ,so I’ve thrown it away.
If you don’t want to go to China, then don’t learn Chinese.
就 is also used in a sentence pattern, which indicates about to ... nearly.... 就要...了 indicates an imminent action. The imminent action is placed between 就要 and 了. Time words can also be placed between 就要 and 了.
The class is about to finish.
It is nearly ten o’ clock.
6. Can 就 and 才 be used in a same sentence?
Yes, it is possible. The following sentence shows that 就 is used for emphasis in the first clause, 才in the second clause indicates the outcome of what has happened in the first clause. jiùshi yīnwei tā bù hăohao xuéxí wŏ cái dă tā de 就 是 因 为 他 不 好 好 学习,我 才 打 他 的 。 JIU BE BECAUSE HE NOT WELL STUDY I CAI HIT HIM DE I only hit him because he didn’t study hard enough.
Exercises
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Translate the following sentences into Chinese.
1. I had waited for him for two hours before he came back. 2. Today he was early. He came at 8 o’clock. 3. That matter is very hard to deal with; only Mr. Wang is clever enough to do it. 4. There are only three of us; I think one bottle of wine will be enough. 5. It’s almost news time. Shall we watch the news in a minute? 6. This term will soon be over. Where are you going for your holidays? 7. As soon as the exam results come out we will know who is the best student. 8. Just because a student has the best exam result doesn’t mean that she is the best student.
Place the following words in the right order.
1. 不去学校了， 十点了，已经， 就， 太晚了 2. 三瓶茅台， 十个人， 就， 我们， 够了 3. 一说， 就， 哭， 我， 他 4. 你，学习， 考试， 考不好， 要是， 就，你不好好地，
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