Vocabulary

早い(はや・い) i-adj

fast; early

言う(い・う) u-verb

to say

彼女(かの・じょ)

she; girlfriend

教授(きょう・じゅ)

professor

姿(すがた)

figure

見る(み・る) ru-verb

to see

教室(きょう・しつ)

classroom

逃げ出す(に・げ・だ・す) u-verb

to run away

食べる(た・べる) ru-verb

to eat

口(くち)

mouth

中(なか)

inside

放り込む(ほう・り・こ・む) u-verb

to throw into

The phrase が早いか is used to describe something that happened the instant something else occurred.

While very similar to the とたんに grammar, it has a strong emphasis on how soon one thing occurred after another as if it’s almost simultaneous. This grammar is rarely used outside of Japanese language tests.

To use this grammar, you attach が早いか to the first verb, then you describe the event that happened the next instant. While it’s conventional to use the non-past tense (dictionary form) for the first verb, you can also use the past tense. For example, you can say either 言うが早いか or ""言ったが早いか. The curious thing about this grammar is that the ""が particle comes right after the verb. Remember, you can do this only with this specific grammatical phrase.

Examples

1. 彼女は、教授の姿を見るが早いか、教室から逃げ出した。
   The instant (she) saw the professor’s figure, (she) ran away from the classroom.

2. 食べてみようと言うが早いか、口の中に放り込んだ。
   The instant (he) said “let’s try eating it”, he threw (it) into his mouth.

3. 食べてみようと言ったが早いか、口の中に放り込んだ。
   The instant (he) said “let’s try eating it”, he threw (it) into his mouth.

Vocabulary

早い(はや・い) i-adj

fast; early

否定(ひ・てい)

denial

見る(み・る) ru-verb

to see

私(わたし)

me, myself, I

顔(かお)

face

何(なに／なん)

what

言う(い・う) u-verb

to say

する exception

to do

搭乗(とう・じょう)

boarding

アナウンス(a na u n su)

announcement

聞こえる(き・こえる) ru-verb

to be audible

皆(みんな)

everybody

ゲート(ge e to)

gate

方(ほう)

direction, way

走り出す(はし・り・だ・す) u-verb

to break into a run

The や or や否や (やいなや) phrase, when appended to a verb, is used to described something that happened right after that verb. Its meaning is essential the same as が早いか. It is also another type of grammar that is not really used in regular conversational Japanese.

否 (read here as いな) is a Kanji meaning “no” used in words like 否定. The literal meaning of this grammar is “whether the action was taken or not”. In order words, the second action is taken before you even take the time to determine whether the first event really happened or not.

You can use this grammar by attaching や or や否や to the dictionary form of the first verb that occurred. Since this grammar is used for events that already have occurred, the second verb is usually in the past tense. However, you can use the dictionary tense to indicate that the events happen regularly.

Examples

1. 私の顔を見るや、何か言おうとした。
   (He) tried to say something as soon as he saw my face.

2. 搭乗のアナウンスが聞こえるや否や、みんながゲートの方へ走り出した。
   As soon as the announcement to board was audible, everybody started running toward the gate.

Vocabulary

早い(はや・い) i-adj

fast; early

読む(よ・む) u-verb

to read

する exception

to do

子供(こ・ども)

child

掃除(そう・じ)

cleaning

散らかす(ち・らかす) u-verb

to scatter around; to leave untidy

もう

already

あきらめる ru-verb

to give up

なる u-verb

to become

教科書(きょう・か・しょ)

textbook

忘れる(わす・れる) ru-verb

to forget

勉強(べん・きょう)

study

出来る(で・き・る) ru-verb

to be able to do

そばから is yet another grammar that describes an event that happens right after another. However, unlike the expressions we have covered so far, そばから implies that the events are a recurring pattern. For example, you would use this grammar to express the fact that you just clean and clean your room only for it to get dirty again soon after.

Besides this difference, the rules for using this expression are exactly the same as が早いか and や否や. Just attach そばから to the dictionary form of the first verb that occurred. The past tense, though rare, also appears to be acceptable. However, the event that immediately follows is usually expressed with the non-past dictionary form because this grammar is used for repeated events and not a specific event in the past.

Examples

1. 子供が掃除するそばから散らかすから、もうあきらめたくなった。
   The child messes up (the room) [repeatedly] as soon as I clean so I already became wanting to give up.

2. 教科書を読んだそばから忘れてしまうので勉強ができない。
   Forget [repeatedly] right after I read the textbook so I can’t study.