Thursday, January 22, 2015

Just: 刚 (gāng) and 刚刚 (gānggāng)

If you want to emphasize something "just" happened, you can use  刚 (gāng) or 刚刚 (gānggāng) to indicate it happened in a flash, or they happened a very short time before you talk about them. They can be used interchangeably, both 刚 (gāng) and 刚刚 (gānggāng) can express that the action happened not long ago. 

  • Subject + 刚 + Verb 
    • 他刚走。He just left.
    • 我刚到。I just arrived. 
  • Subject + 刚刚 + Verb
    • 他刚刚走。He just left.
    • 我刚刚到。I just arrived. 
However,  刚 (gāng)  can be used to describe something "Just" happened, with a specific time period: Subject + 刚 + VO + Duration. In this patter, 刚 (gāng) can express "from the time an action happens until the present time".
  • 我刚到这里五分钟。I just got here five minutes ago.
  • 他的宝宝刚出生两个星期。His baby was just born for two weeks.
  • 我刚学中文一个学期。I've just learned Chinese for a semester. 
  • 小张刚来美国一个月。Little Zhang just arrived in America a month ago. 
Please fill in the blanks.
  1. 我_____来这个手机两个礼拜,可是它就坏了。I just got this phone for two weeks, but now it's broken.
  2. 我_____听到这个消息。I just hear this news. 
  3. _____来中国一天,还不太会用筷子。He just came to China for one day. He does not know how to use the chopsticks.
  4. _____来我们公司两周。She just came to our company for two weeks. 
  5. 他们_____去学校。They just went to school. 
Reference:
http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/%22Just%22_with_%22gang%22

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