Complex Sentence PatternsHSK 4
Events in quick succession with 一... 就...
This pattern expresses that the second event occurs immediately after the first event. Use 一 before the first event and 就 before the second event. When the subjects of the two events are the same, you don't need to repeat the subject before 就.
Structure
Subj. + 一 + Event 1 + 就 + Event 2
When the subject of both events is the same, it appears only once before 一.
Subj.1 + 一 + Event 1, Subj.2 + 就 + Event 2
When the subjects are different, each appears before its respective event.
Examples
- 饿死了，我一下课就要去吃午饭。È sǐ le, wǒ yī xiàkè jiù yào qù chī wǔfàn.I'm starving. I'm going to have lunch as soon as class is over.
- 你能不能一下班就去接孩子？Nǐ néng bu néng yī xiàbān jiù qù jiē háizi?Can you go to pick up our kid as soon as you get off work?
- 妈妈一到家就去做饭了。Māma yī dào jiā jiù qù zuòfàn le.As soon as mom arrived home, she went off to cook.
- 老师一来大家就不说话了。Lǎoshī yī lái dàjiā jiù bù shuōhuà le.As soon as the teacher came, everyone stopped talking.
- 我一进门，小狗就跑了过来。Wǒ yī jìn mén, xiǎogǒu jiù pǎo le guòlái.As soon as I walked in the door, the puppy ran over to me.
Words that use this
- 一yīone; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yāo] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit
- 就jiù(after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 是) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precisely; exactly; only; as little as; as much as; as many as; to approach; to move towards; to undertake; to engage in; (often followed by 着) taking advantage of; (of food) to go with; with regard to; concerning; (pattern: 就 ... 也 ...) even if ... still ...; (pattern: 不 ... 就 ...) if not ... then must be ...