The “要 / 快 / 快要 / 就要……了” pattern
The patterns “要……了 / 快……了 / 快要……了 / 就要……了” show that something is about to happen.
If the sentence contains a time word, “就要……了” is normally the one used.
Core meaning
It is usually rendered as:
“is about to …”
“will … soon”
“is nearly …”
The forms
要 + verb / state + 了
快 + verb / state + 了
快要 + verb / state + 了
就要 + verb / state + 了
Meaning: something is going to happen very soon.
Important rule
When the sentence has an explicit or relative time expression, this form is the usual one.
Time + 就要 + verb + 了
Examples
饭菜快要做好了
饭菜fàncàithe food
快要kuàiyàoabout to
做好zuò hǎobe ready
了lemarks the new state approaching
This says the food will be ready very soon.
火车快开了
火车huǒchētrain
快kuàiabout to
开kāidepart
了lemarks that the event is close
The sentence says there is very little time left before the train goes.
我们下星期就要考试了
我们wǒmenwe
下星期xià xīngqīnext week
就要jiù yàoabout to
考试kǎoshìsit an exam
了lemarks the event approaching
This sentence has the time expression 下星期, which is why 就要……了 is used.
Quick rule
要 / 快 / 快要 / 就要 + verb + 了
Meaning: an event or action is about to happen.
With a time expression: time + 就要 + verb + 了
饭菜快要做好了。— Dinner is almost ready.
火车快开了。— The train is about to leave.
我们下星期就要考试了。— We have our exam next week.