As an adverb, 光,就, and 仅仅 all define a scope beyond which there is nothing else.
“光” is often used in spoken Chinese.
Subject + 光 + Verb / Adjective
e.g.
你们怎么光说话不吃东西?(Nǐmen zěnme guāng shuōhuà bù chī dōngxi?) Why do you just talk and not eat?
孩子们每天光学习,没时间玩儿。(Háizimen měitiān guāng xuéxí, méi shíjiān wánr.) Children only study every day and have no time to play.
你光担心是没用的,打电话问问情况吧。(Nǐ guāng dānxīn shì méi yòng de, dǎ diànhuà wèn wèn qíngkuàng ba.) It’s useless to worry about it, just call and ask about the situation.
家具光好看不行,还要质量好。(Jiājù guāng hǎokàn bùxíng, hái yào zhìliàng hǎo.) The furniture is not only good-looking but also of good quality.
光 + Noun phrase + (就 + Verb + Num-measure phrase)
In this case, there is often a “就 + Verb + Num-measure phrase” after it.
e.g.
光你一个人参加比赛是不够的,我们需要至少三个人。(Guāng nǐ yīgèrén cān jiā bǐsài shì bùgòu de, wǒmen xūyào zhìshǎo sān gè rén.) It’s not enough for you to play alone, we need at least three.
不光我,其他很多同学也不满意现在的老师。(Bùguāng wǒ, qítā hěnduō tóngxué yě bù mǎnyì xiànzài de lǎoshī.)Not only me, but many other students are also dissatisfied with the current teacher.
昨天超市打折,光我们一家就买了两千多块钱的东西。(Zuótiān chāoshì dǎzhé, guāng wǒmen yījiā jiù mǎile liǎng qiān duō kuài qián de dōngxi.)Yesterday there was a discount in the supermarket, and our family alone bought more than 2,000 yuan of things.
我太饿了,光米饭我就吃了三碗。(Wǒ tài èle, guāng mǐfàn wǒ jiù chīle sān wǎn.)I was so hungry that I ate three bowls of rice.
“仅(仅)” is often used in written Chinese.
Subject + 仅(仅) + Verb
e.g.
从家跑到学校,我们仅仅用了三分钟。(Cóng jiā pǎo dào xuéxiào, wǒmen jǐnjǐn yòngle sān fēnzhōng.) We ran from home to school in just three minutes.
天气太冷了,办公室仅有两个人没感冒。(Tiānqì tài lěngle, bàngōngshì jǐn yǒu liǎng gèrén méi gǎnmào.) The weather was so cold that only two people in the office did not catch a cold.
我不太了解这个人,我们仅仅见过一次面。(Wǒ bù tài liǎojiě zhège rén, wǒmen jǐnjǐn jiànguò yīcì miàn.) I don’t know this guy very well. We’ve only met once.
这个博物馆仅对学生开放。(Zhège bówùguǎn jǐn duì xuéshēng kāifàng.) This museum is only open to students.
仅(仅) + Noun phrase + (就 + Verb + Num-measure phrase)
In this case, there is often a “就 + Verb + Num-measure phrase” after it.
e.g.
这个月我花了很多钱,仅电费就花了300多块。(Zhège yuè wǒ huāle hěnduō qián, jǐn diànfèi jiù huāle 300 duō kuài.) I spent a lot of money this month, more than 300 yuan on electricity alone.
海南太美了,仅我们公司就有一半的人想去海南生活。(Hǎinán tàiměile, jǐn wǒmen gōngsī jiù yǒu yībàn de rén xiǎng qù Hǎinán shēnghuó.) Hainan is so beautiful that half of the people in our company want to live in Hainan.
今天作业很多,仅数学我就做了两个小时。(Jīntiān zuòyè hěnduō, jǐn shùxué wǒ jiù zuòle liǎng gè xiǎoshí.) There is a lot of homework today. Just math alone, I did it for two hours.
Subject + 就 + Verb
e.g.
我就买了一件衣服,他买了三件呢。(Wǒ jiù mǎile yī jiàn yīfu, tā mǎile sān jiàn ne.) I just bought one dress, he bought three.
有些人就会说,不会做。(Yǒuxiē rén jiù huì shuō, bù huì zuò.) Some people just say, do not do.
已经晚上11点了,我就写了一点儿作业。(Yǐjīng wǎnshàng 11 diǎnle, wǒ jiù xiěle yīdiǎnr zuòyè.) It was already 11 o’clock in the evening, and I just did a little homework.
Subject + 就 + Noun phrase
Different from the previous two words, “就 + Verb + Num-measure phrase” is NOT used after “就 + Noun.” There is often a subject before “就.”
e.g.
昨天下课以后,学校就他一个人。(Zuótiān xiàkè yǐhòu, xuéxiào jiù tā yīgè rén.)
这部电影全家都喜欢,就妈妈不喜欢。(Zhè bù diànyǐng quánjiā dōu xǐhuān, jiù māma bù xǐhuān.)
他们就一个孩子,所以希望孩子住得近一点儿。(Tāmen jiù yīgè háizi, suǒyǐ xīwàng háizi zhù de jìn yīdiǎnr.)
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