▎一 A 就 B, (yì A jiù B), as soon as

 

Function The pattern ‘一 A 就 B’ indicates a sequence of instances with B taking place right after A.

1 我一下課，就回來。

Wǒ yí xiàkè, jiù huílái.

I will return as soon as class is over.

2 他一回國，就找工作。

Tā yì huíguó, jiù zhǎo gōngzuò.

He looked for a job as soon as he returned to his country.

3 我妹妹一回去，就給媽媽打電話。

Wǒ mèimei yì huíqù, jiù gěi māma dǎ diànhuà.

My sister called my Mom right after she got home.

 

Usage The two instances can be the affirmative or in the negative. Both 一 and 就 are adverbs, which come after the subject. Note that a repeated subject can be omitted as below.

1 我一下課，就去吃晚飯。

Wǒ yí xiàkè, jiù qù chī wǎnfàn.

As soon as I get out of class, I’ll go eat dinner.

2 他打算等那裡一沒人，就去拍照。

Tā dǎsuàn děng nàlǐ yì méi rén, jiù qù pāizhào.

He plans to go take pictures as soon as there is nobody there.

3 老闆今天早上一到公司，就不開心。

Lǎobǎn jīntiān zǎoshàng yí dào gōngsī, jiù bù kāixīn.

The boss was upset as soon as he arrived at the office this morning.

Questions：The A-not-A form is not possible. Both 嗎ma or 是不是 can be used to form questions.

1 他一下課，就去學校找你嗎？

Tā yí xiàkè, jiù qù xuéxiào zhǎo nǐ ma?

Did he go to school to see you right after he got out of class?

2 我們今天是不是比賽一結束，就一起去KTV唱歌？

Wǒmen jīntiān shìbúshì bǐsài yì jiéshù, jiù yìqǐ qù KTV chànggē?

Are we going to KTV today together right after the game is over ?