Sufficient condition: 只要……就

复句 / complex sentences

Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral

只要 + condition，(Subject) + 就 + result

只要……就 means "as long as…, then…" / "all you need is…". The condition is sufficient: if it's met, the result follows, and it's easy.

只要 starts the first clause (before or after the subject); 就 goes after the subject of the second clause, right before the verb.

Compare with 只有……才 (next point): 只要 = "it's enough to", 只有 = "only if".

Examples

只要每天锻炼半个小时，身体就会越来越好。
Zhǐyào měi tiān duànliàn bàn ge xiǎoshí, shēntǐ jiù huì yuè lái yuè hǎo.
As long as you exercise half an hour a day, your health will keep improving.
只要你按时吃药，病很快就会好。
Zhǐyào nǐ ànshí chī yào, bìng hěn kuài jiù huì hǎo.
As long as you take your medicine on time, you'll get better soon.
只要有时间，我就去游泳。
Zhǐyào yǒu shíjiān, wǒ jiù qù yóuyǒng.
Whenever I have time, I go swimming.

Common mistakes

✗ 只要你努力，你才能成功。 → 只要 pairs with 就. ✓ 只要你努力，你就能成功。

✗ 只要你努力，就你能成功。 → 就 comes after the subject. ✓ ……你就能成功。