How to use 再不…就…
再不…… 就……
再不…就… warns that delaying an action further will bring a consequence. The first clause names what needs to happen soon, with 再不 describing continued failure to do it. The clause after 就 explains the resulting problem or the action someone will take. A sense of “now” or “soon” often comes from the construction even without an explicit time word.
The subjects can stay the same or change between the warning and its consequence. Final 了 is common when the result is approaching or the speaker announces an imminent response. Keep the necessary action after 再不 rather than accidentally naming the undesired outcome there. The pattern is useful for deadlines, warnings, and last opportunities.
Examples with pinyin and English
你再不走，我就叫保安了。
If you don't leave now, I'm going to call security.
再不走我们开会就要迟到了。
If we don't leave now, we will be late for our meeting.
你再不努力，你就会被淘汰。
If you don't start working hard, you're going to get eliminated.
火车快开了， 再不检票就来不及了。
The train is about to leave! If we don't get our tickets checked now, we're not going to make it.
What to remember
- 再不 introduces the action being delayed.
- 就 introduces the approaching consequence.
- The context supplies how urgent the deadline is.
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
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