How to use 就要……了
还有 + Time Period + 就要 + Verb Phrase + 了
就要 followed by an event phrase and final 了 presents the event as approaching. The speaker treats the remaining wait as short or relevant. This overlaps with some uses of 快要, but the construction is especially useful when the sentence gives a concrete countdown to what is going to happen.
An opening phrase with 还有 can state the time remaining, followed by 就要 and the event. In some countdown sentences, 要 is unnecessary and 就 alone links the interval to the outcome. Keep the interval distinct from a duration already spent doing an activity. The expression measures how far ahead the event lies, and its sense of nearness depends on the event's practical timescale.
Examples with pinyin and English
就要下雨了。
It's about to rain.
他们就要结婚了。
They are about to get married.
我就要出国了。
I'm about to go abroad.
宝宝就要一岁了。
The baby is about to be one year old.
What to remember
- Use final 了 for the impending event.
- 还有 can introduce the remaining interval.
- Countdown intervals point forward from the reference time.
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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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