3 · Linking clauses
As soon as: yī … jiù
one thing straight after another
Yī before the first verb and jiù before the second: the second thing follows straight on from the first.
The pattern is subject, 一, first verb — then 就 and the second verb: 我一到家就给你打电话, “I’ll call you as soon as I get home”. 一 here is not the number but an adverb meaning “once, the moment”. Both 一 and 就 sit directly before their verbs, after their subjects.
Because 一 is pronounced together with the verb after it, its tone changes as it always does: yí before a fourth tone (一看, 一到), yì before the other tones (一听, 一回家, 一起床). The pinyin on this site shows the tone as it is spoken.
The pattern has two uses. For a single event it means “as soon as”: 她一上车就睡着了, “she fell asleep the moment she got in the car”. For a habit it means “whenever, every time”: 我一累就头疼, “whenever I’m tired I get a headache”. Context, and 了 for something that has happened, tell the two apart.
With one subject, it stands once, at the front. With two, each comes before its own adverb: 老师一进来，学生们就安静了. English “as soon as” opens the clause, in front of the subject; putting 一 there is the commonest mistake with this pattern.
The form
| one subject | 我一到家就给你打电话。 |
| two subjects | 老师一进来，学生们就安静了。 |
| every time | 我一累就头疼。 |
| at a glance | 这道题我一看就会。 |
| something that happened | 她一上车就睡着了。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
一 stands before the first verb and 就 before the second; both come after their subjects.
他一下课就去食堂吃饭。As soon as class is over, he goes to the canteen to eat.
With two different subjects, each one stands before its own adverb.
妈妈一回来，孩子们就跑过去了。As soon as Mum came back, the children ran over to her.
The pattern can also describe a habit: whenever the first thing happens, the second follows.
我一紧张，说话就很快。Whenever I get nervous, I talk very fast.
With verbs of seeing and hearing it means “at a glance”, “the moment you hear it”.
他说话我一听就知道他是南方人。The moment I heard him speak, I knew he was from the south.
A closer look
Yī … jiù and its neighbours
马上, “right away”, describes one event happening soon; 一 … 就 links two events and says there is no gap between them. 刚 … 就 is close in meaning but looks back at something that had only just happened: 我刚到家，他就来了, “I had only just got home when he arrived”.
In writing, 便 sometimes replaces 就. And 一旦, “once”, looks like a relative of this pattern but is about a condition: “once this happens (if it ever does)”.
How to spot it
- 一…就
- 一看就
- 一听就
Example sentences
我一起床就喝一杯水。As soon as I get up, I drink a glass of water.
天一黑，街上的灯就亮了。As soon as it got dark, the street lights came on.
他一喝咖啡就睡不着。Whenever he drinks coffee, he can’t sleep.
这个问题很简单，我一看就明白了。This question is simple — I understood it at a glance.
你一到机场就给我发个信息。Send me a message as soon as you get to the airport.
春天一到，花就都开了。As soon as spring came, all the flowers came out.
7 more example sentences
孩子一见到爸爸就笑了。The child smiled the moment he saw his father.
我一有消息就告诉你。I’ll tell you as soon as I hear anything.
她一感冒就咳嗽。Whenever she catches a cold, she gets a cough.
电影一结束，大家就站起来走了。As soon as the film ended, everyone stood up and left.
他一回到宿舍就开始玩游戏。The moment he gets back to his dorm, he starts playing games.
门一开，小狗就跑了出去。The moment the door opened, the puppy ran out.
我一听这首歌就想起我的大学生活。Whenever I hear this song, I think of my university days.
Worth knowing (1)
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Learnt in no time
With 会 or 懂 as the second verb, the pattern says that something is easy: it takes one look or one try.
这个游戏很容易，一学就会。This game is easy — you pick it up straight away.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English “as soon as” opens the clause, so learners put 一 in front of the subject. 一 is an adverb that belongs to the verb: subject first, then 一, then the verb.
Subject, yī, first verb; then jiù, second verb — both little words sit right before their verbs.
Your turn
8 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.