Level 3 Lesson 37.2 – 我的签证早就办好了，但他的昨天才办好。
GRAMMAR: Adverb of Time 才 and Adverb of Time 就
In this HSK 3 video lesson we'll learn how to correctly use two Adverbs of Time in Chinese: 才 and 就:
- 时间副词 (Shíjiān Fùcí ▸ Adverb of Time) 才 indicating "as late as"
- 时间副词 (Shíjiān Fùcí ▸ Adverb of Time) 就 indicating "as early as"
GRAMMAR
Grammar 1. 时间副词 "才"
Shíjiān Fùcí "cái" ▸ Adverb of Time "才"
才 is an Adverb of Time that can be used before a verb (phrase), as an Adverbial, following this structure:
才 + v. (phrase)
才 indicates that in the speaker's opinion, the action or event happened late, or lasted for a long time, “as late as”. For example,
- Bā diǎn de huìyì, tā jiǔ diǎn cái lái cānjiā.
八点的会议，他九点才来参加。
(A) meeting (that is) 8 o’clock, (-) he “as late as” (at) 9 o’clock (then) came. - Wǒ gēn tā shuō le jǐ cì tā cái tóngyì.
我跟他说了几次他才同意。
“As late as” I talked with him (for) several times he (then) agreed.
It doesn’t matter when the action or event happened, it could be in the past, present or future, cause remember in Chinese there’s no concept of tense, only aspect.
(1) for actions or events in the past
- Lù shang dǔchē, wǒmen kāi le liǎng ge xiǎoshí cái dào bīnguǎn.
路上堵车，我们开了两个小时才到宾馆。
(The) road-surface had-(a)-traffic-jam, “as late as” we drove (for) two “ge” (of) hours (we then) arrived (the) hotel. - Tāmen xiǎng le hěn cháng shíjiān cái juédìng jǔxíng zhè cì huìyì.
他们想了很长时间才决定举行这次会议。
“As late as” they thought (for) very long time (they then) decided to hold this time (of) meeting.
(2) for actions or events in the present
- Yì nián guòqu le, wǒ cái míngbai tā duì wǒ yǒu duō zhòngyào.
一年过去了，我才明白他对我有多重要。
“As late as” one year passed, I (then) realized he to me “reaches the evaluation of” how important. - Tā gōngzuò le shí nián cái yǒu xiànzài de gōngzī shuǐpíng.
他工作了十年才有现在的工资水平。
“As late as” he worked (for) 10 years (then he) has (the) salary level (of) now.
(3) for actions or events in the future
- Wǒ jiǔ yuè cái huì dào guówài chūchāi, bù zháojí bàn qiānzhèng.
我九月才会到国外出差，不着急办签证。
“As late as” September I (then) will go abroad to-be-on-business-trip, (I am) not hurried to get (a) visa. - Suīrán wǒ dǎsuàn míngnián cái chūguó, dàn wǒ de qiānzhèng yǐjīng bàn hǎo le.
虽然我打算明年才出国，但我的签证已经办好了。
Though I plan to “as late as” next year (then) go aboard, but my visa (has) already (been) handled-well.
Review. 就 jiù
Before we have learned many usages of Adverb 就:
| ☑ See also (1) 时间副词 (shíjiānfùcí, Adverb of Time) 就 indicating "very soon in a short time". |
| ☑ See also (2) 肯定副词 (kěndìngfùcí, Positive Adverb) 就 indicating "exactly; precisely". |
| ☑ See also (3) 时间副词 (shíjiānfùcí, Adverb of Time) 就 indicating “very soon after”, “quickly after”. |
| ☑ See also (4) 副词 (fùcí, Adverb) 就 to take over previous context and carry on the sentence. |
In today's lesson, we'll learn another usage of 就.
Grammar 2. 时间副词 "就"
Shíjiān Fùcí "jiù" ▸ Adverb of Time "就"
In today's lesson, 就 is an Adverb of Time that can be used before a verb (phrase), as an Adverbial, following this structure:
就 + v. (phrase)
就 indicates that in the speaker's opinion, the action or event happened early or ended early; “as early as”. For example,
- Tā tài lèi le, wǎn shang bā diǎn jiù shuì zháo le.
他太累了，晚上八点就睡着了。
He is too tired, “as early as” evening 8 o’clock (he) fell asleep. - Yínhángkǎ shàng ge yuè jiù bàn hǎo le.
银行卡上个月就办好了。
(The) bank card “as early as” last “ge” (of) month (has been) handled-well. - Jīntiān zěnme xiàwǔ liǎng diǎn jiù kāishǐ dǔchē le?
今天怎么下午两点就开始堵车了？
How come (it) started to have traffic jam today “as early as” afternoon 2 o’clock?