A2
一…就… — as soon as
The 一…就 pattern in Cantonese for one thing following immediately on another, why both halves need a verb, and how it shades into “whenever”.
一 in front of the first verb and 就 in front of the second says the two events were touching — no gap, no delay. The pattern is identical to Mandarin’s.
我一講佢就明。
Ngo5 jat1 gong2 keoi5 zau6 ming4.
He got it the moment I said it.
佢一返到屋企就瞓咗。
Keoi5 jat1 faan1dou3 uk1kei2 zau6 fan3zo2.
He went straight to bed when he got home.
我一到就打電話畀你。
Ngo5 jat1 dou3 zau6 daa2 din6waa2 bei2 nei5.
I’ll ring you as soon as I arrive.
Both halves need a verb
一 attaches to something that happens, not to a thing.
一雨就唔去。
一落雨就唔去。
雨 is rain, the thing. 落雨 is raining, the event.
The subjects can differ
Each goes in front of its own half, and 就 stays before its verb.
老師一入嚟，啲學生就靜晒。
Lou5si1 jat1 jap6lai4, di1 hok6saang1 zau6 zing6saai3.
The students went quiet the moment the teacher walked in.
靜晒 there is 晒 doing its work — all of them, completely.
It also means “whenever”
Used of something habitual, the pattern stops being about one occasion and becomes a rule about the world. Nothing in the grammar changes.
佢一飲酒就面紅。
Keoi5 jat1 jam2 zau2 zau6 min6hung4.
He goes red whenever he drinks.
Against 之後
之後 also joins two events and promises nothing about how soon. 食完飯之後我返屋企 allows for stopping on the way; 我一食完飯就返屋企 says you did not.