HSK 2
要/快要/就要⋯⋯了
yào / kuài yào / jiù yào ⋯ ⋯ liǎo
Expressing an imminent event (要/快要/就要⋯⋯了)
Explanation
The structure 要/快要/就要⋯⋯了 (yào/kuàiyào/jiùyào...le) is used to express that something is about to happen, meaning "about to," "soon."
(time) + 要/快要/就要 + verb/adjective + 了 le. The words 要/快要/就要 go before the verb, and 了 (le) is required at the end of the sentence to frame the meaning "about to... now."
When announcing that an event is about to take place in the near future (要下雨了 = about to rain; 快要放假了 = the holiday is about to start; 就要考试了 = the exam is about to happen).
要...了 and 快要...了 are used for something happening very soon and usually do NOT state a specific time point; whereas 就要...了 emphasizes happening imminently and CAN be accompanied by a specific time point (明天就要考试了 = the exam is tomorrow). Therefore only 就要 can be used with time words like 明天; you cannot say 明天快要考试了.
Vietnamese learners often drop the 了 at the end (saying only 要下雨) — losing the "about to... now" meaning. You must keep 了. And remember not to pair 快要 with a specific time point; when there is 明天/后天... use 就要...了.
Examples
It's about to rain.
We're about to have our holiday.
They have an exam tomorrow (it's coming up soon).
Practice
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Learn “要/快要/就要⋯⋯了” effectively
The grammar point “要/快要/就要⋯⋯了” (Expressing an imminent event (要/快要/就要⋯⋯了)) is one of the key structures at HSK 2. To use it fluently, you need to understand the contexts where it's used and practice regularly.
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