HSK 4
一……就……
yī…… jiù……
as soon as … then …
Structure
Subject + 一 + Action 1 + 就 + Action 2
How it works
This structure is used to indicate that one action follows another immediately. It can describe a habitual sequence of events or a specific situation that happened once. When the subjects of the two actions are different, the second subject must be placed immediately before '就'.
Examples
爸爸一起床就喝咖啡。
Bàba yī qǐchuáng jiù hē kāfēi.
As soon as dad gets up, he drinks coffee.
我一到家就给你打电话。
Wǒ yī dào jiā jiù gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà.
I will call you as soon as I arrive home.
老师一进教室，学生们就不说话了。
Lǎoshī yī jìn jiàoshì, xuéshengmen jiù bù shuōhuà le.
As soon as the teacher entered the classroom, the students stopped talking.
Common mistakes
Forgetting to place the second subject before '就' when the two actions have different subjects (e.g., saying '一老师来就学生安静' instead of '老师一来学生就安静').
Tip
Think of this structure as 'Action A happens, and Action B follows immediately.' It works for past, present, and future events.
More HSK 4 grammar
See 一……就…… in real Chinese
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