How to use the structure 快要…了and its different variants
We can use the structure 快要…了 to indicate that something is going to happen in the near future.
The structure 快要…了
The structure 快要…了 
emphasizes that an action is about to happen. We can use it when talking about something spontaneous or about a natural phenomena. For example, "it's going to rain".
In the structure 快要…了, we should put a predicate expressed by a verb in place of the ellipsis. A subject is placed before the structure.
emphasizes that an action is about to happen. We can use it when talking about something spontaneous or about a natural phenomena. For example, "it's going to rain".
In the structure 快要…了, we should put a predicate expressed by a verb in place of the ellipsis. A subject is placed before the structure.Scheme
subject
快要
predicate
verb
了
Examples
端午节快要来了！
The Dragon Boat Festival is coming soon!
duānwǔ jié kuàiyào lái le
快要下雨了
It's going to rain
kuàiyào xià yǔ le
Pay attention
We can use this structure when we don't know when an action will happen.
Therefore, the structure cannot be preceded by an adverbial modifier of time.
For example, we cannot say:
端午节明天快要来了！ "The Dragon Boat Festival is coming tomorrow!".
We can also use either 要…了 or 快…了 instead of 快要…了.
The structure 要…了
The structures 要…了 and 快要…了 have the same meaning and are used in the same way.
and 快要…了 have the same meaning and are used in the same way. Pay attention
We can use the structures 快要…了 and 要…了 to indicate that an action will happen in a few minutes or in a few years.
Scheme
subject
要
predicate
了
Examples
我要回国了
I'm going back to my country
wǒ yào huíguó le
他们要离婚了
They're getting divorced
tāmen yào líhūn le
In some cases, 要...了 can be preceded by an adverbial modifier of time.
Examples
下个月姐姐要结婚了
My sister is getting married next month
xià ge yuè jiějie jyào jiéhūn le
The structure 就要…了
If a sentence has an adverbial modifier of time, 就 is usually placed at the beginning of the structure.
is usually placed at the beginning of the structure. Pay attention
We can use 就要...了 when an action has been scheduled or when we know what time an action is going to take place.
Scheme
subject
time adverbial
(就)要
predicate
了
Examples
你今天就要回家了
You're going home today
nǐ jīntiān jiù yào huí jiā le
马上就要下大雨了
It's going to rain soon
mǎshàng jiù yào xià dàyǔ le
The structure 就…了
We can also use 就…了 instead of 就要…了.
Pay attention
就…了 is used when talking about actions that are going to happen in the near future.
Examples
还有半个小时飞机就飞起了
The plane takes off in half an hour
hái yǒu bàn ge xiǎoshí fēijī jiù fēiqǐ le
The structure 快…了
The structure 快…了 can also mean "soon".
can also mean "soon".
Pay attention
In this meaning, 快…了 can only be used in sentences in which a predicate is expressed by either an adjective or a numeral with a measure word.
Scheme
subject
快
predicate
verb/adj./numeral
了
Examples
你的咖啡快凉了
Your coffee is getting cold
nǐ de kāfēi kuài liáng le
天快黑了
It's getting dark
tiān kuài hēi le
快十点了，快点儿吧！
Hurry up! It's almost ten o'clock!
kuài shí diǎn le, kuài diǎnr ba
我快吐了
I'm going to throw up
wǒ kuài tǔ le
快…了 can be shortened to 快了 to answer a question.
Pay attention
We cannot use 就了 or 要了 to answer a question.
Examples
—— 我们什么时候会见面？—— 快了
When will we meet? — Soon
wǒmen shénme shíhòu huì jiànmiàn — kuài le
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