Here you can find a large assortment of example sentences for the word just, or in other words sentences that can help you learn how to use just in a sentence. Learning how to use a word in a sentences can be very helpful, for example when it comes to learning how to use the word in a sentence, in which context the word can be used as well as to learn the true meaning of the word «just».
Just in a sentence
Here below you will find several sentences that illustrate how to use the word just in a sentence.
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You just have to do you.».
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It just happened that way.
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I’m just trying to learn».
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It didn’t just sound good.
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I just have to believe it.
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Campbell by just 67 votes.
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I’m just having fun now.».
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I would just do comedies.».
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I just look at it as music.
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They’re just sort of tough.
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And he walked that floor until just about daybreak.
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And I just got carried away with the whole thing ..
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It would be just too harrowing for people to watch.
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Kitten survival rates are just over one per litter.
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He was loyal, honest; just a solid-gold individual.
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He was just as large-hearted when he was poor as when he was rich and successful.
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Stone built a cabin named «Heart’s-ease» just south of the mouth of Fourmile Run.
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Theorists believe it is no accident that Jupiter lies just beyond the frost line.
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In the game world, steam technology is just beginning to become widely available.
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The two parties meet at the fal’Cie, and find Serah just as she turns to crystal.
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Van den Hoogenband started quickly and Thorpe chased him, reaching the 100 m mark just 0.04 s behind.
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According to artist Brett Jones: «People would just do things they thought were cool and would work».
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The entire game was completed just before its presentation at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009.
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Its motion became just south of due east, causing the strongest winds to remain south of the islands.
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With the FOCA teams boycotting the race, the San Marino Grand Prix was run with just 14 cars present.
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In 2005 it was declared that the 108 Leopard 2A4s were to cost Spain just €16.9m, to be paid by 2016.
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In 896 a meeting of the Mercian witan was held in the royal hall at Kingsholm, just outside the town.
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It moved slowly northward and strengthened, becoming a hurricane on September 12 just east of Belize.
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Milburn quit after just one full season and was replaced by Bill McGarry early in the 1964–65 season.
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Playing in just 47 games due to the lockout-shortened season, Daniel recorded 12 goals and 40 points.
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Hertford retreated to Sherborne in Dorset, where he garrisoned the castle, with just under 1,500 men.
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A two-lane freeway, it stretches for 13.3 miles (21.4 km) from north of Sulphur to just south of Ada.
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It was Cambridge’s first victory since the 1986 race and just their second victory in eighteen years.
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It is a narrow, faint ring located just inside the ε ring, between it and the shepherd moon Cordelia.
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It was hoped that with the power of atomic bombs, just finding the right cities would be good enough.
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The type specimen of Archaeopteryx was discovered just two years after Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species.
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It really isn’t just an effect, because it actually comes from a source which is a true continuation of that character.».
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It is just luminous enough to be seen with the unaided eye, at a distance of about 154 light years from the Solar System.
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On March 21, 1942, Davis enlisted in the United States Army in Lubbock, Texas, just after the US entry into World War II.
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The cup is just large enough to contain the female and her eggs, measuring about 3 in (76 mm) wide and 2 in (51 mm) deep.
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On the second day, after the Australian innings ended on 435, South Africa began to bat just after the luncheon interval.
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On 19 April Seraph set sail and arrived just off the coast of Huelva on 29 April after having been bombed twice en route.
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According to machine-state functionalism, the nature of a mental state is just like the nature of a Turing machine state.
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I was so annoyed with him and went in and gave him a piece of my mind but he just turned round and told me to fuck off.».
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As Hill explains in her autobiography, «I was awed, but not just by the know-how and hard work she’d put into her ascent.
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This view was shared by many contemporaries, establishing an image of Lafayette seeking to advance the freedom of all mankind rather than the interests of just one nation.
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He suggested an amendment that would instead just allow the Treasury to redeem the notes for lower-interest bonds, now that the government’s borrowing costs had decreased.
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It is migratory, ranging from mid-Alberta to North Carolina during the breeding season, and from just south of the Canada–United States border to Mexico during the winter.
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East of that junction, I-69 turns southeasterly passing the Hawk Hollow Golf Course and Park Lake on the way to meet the eastern end of BL I-69 just north of Lake Lansing.
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The four-lane highway crosses the Escanaba River just upstream from its mouth near the large Verso Esky Paper Mill and shifts to run immediately next to Little Bay de Noc.
Synonyms for just
Another way to better understand how a word can be used is to examine what synonyms it has, and how these synonyms can be used. For example, the word just has the following synonyms: conscionable, fitting, meet, retributive, retributory, vindicatory, rightful, fair, just, honorable, honourable, right, righteous, equitable, evenhanded, antimonopoly, antitrust, clean, sporting, sporty, sportsmanlike, fair-minded, fair-and-square, impartial, reasonable, sensible, good, upright, barely, hardly, scarcely, scarce, just now, merely, simply, only, but, precisely and exactly.
General information about «just» example sentences
The example sentences for the word just that we present on this web site, stems from different official sources. For example one of our sources are articles on Wikipedia that are classified as at least Good articles. But we also use news articles, books and other generic texts to gather example sentences of how the word «just» can be used in a sentence. To the right of every sentence you will find a link out arrow that sends you to the source of the sentence, where you can access the full text and context for the presented example sentence. This can be useful because some words can sometimes be difficult to understand with only a sentence for context, whereas the full article or text can help you gain insight on how to use the word «just».
1.
«Don’t need it,» Herndon said, «these berries melt just as well and taste close enough to it
2.
What I have just described here is a small portion of who
3.
If you’re just interested in what you want in your life then you’re going to lack consistency
4.
Jorma didn’t mean to appear that nervous, «It’s just a bit lavish,» he said
5.
this year that will move you forward towards achieving the life that you want to live? Just achieve a simple goal that you haven’t done yet
6.
What I have just described here can be challenged by
7.
It never felt like Ava came from YingolNeerie in a way, it just felt like she came from a ghost
8.
Tobias Hobbes: What’s the recording for? Your protection? I could just burn the tape if I wanted to, y’know?
9.
You could just as easily have a vigilante zombie killer as you could have a serial killer… you hadn’t thought of this?
10.
means the desire to walk with Him is not just unreal
11.
I also realized it wasn’t just for my children, it was for you and your
12.
“You and your dad are just two men
13.
I was just telling you about Kulai, but the home we live in is what I always wanted but didn’t dare aspire to, even as an Angel
14.
I would have liked to expound further, but I have just
15.
He was just starting his tenancy with Leand at the time, Tdeshi was thirty two decades in the future
16.
Jorma was just coming off the boats at the time
17.
just a fantasy but it is a reality
18.
that means walking with God is for you and me, not just
19.
«You didn’t want to hear that I was created from the Yingolian ghost, so I just never came right out and said it
20.
Even if the pain people weren’t real, just to write that
21.
When Mom finally told me about the case, I remember just nodding and walking to my room to just stare at the ceiling and think
22.
The morals they decided to teach me were just so I wouldn’t turn out like this guy
23.
I know I shouldn’t have let this get to me—my parents were just trying to do what was best for me—but it still bothered me that my life growing up was so intertwined with a murderer like Robert Hansen
24.
Just death and rotting corpses
25.
covenant God made with Abraham was more than just
26.
Use that time, don’t just stand there, do something
27.
In that instance, don’t just do something, sit there
28.
“You’re just trying to avoid me
29.
People just don’t use that time effectively
30.
that it had just moved into another time-zone – yet another cautionary
31.
It’s probably just nerves
32.
“Did you shoot him? Fuck, Dad!” The man’s holding his stomach, just below his chest
33.
“No you just carry on it seems more interesting than mine”
34.
Take decisive actions, rather than detaching completely from problems and stresses and wishing they would just go away
35.
Would you be listening to what they are telling you from their perspective on life? Would you be being open minded and accepting that your point of view is just that, it’s your point of view
36.
We are just getting started, we’re just warming up, but I can imagine that you are probably seeing your life in a way that you have never seen it
37.
“I just wanted you to know the truth
38.
Here I have just underlined some of these so-called small
39.
understand because I explained it to you in a step by step system? Do you think that you would have the ability to do that? If you do, then by all means go ahead and spend an hour explaining to them exactly what you just learned
40.
That’s not going to go well, it’s just not
41.
He does a lot of odd jobs around the bar but he mostly just hangs around here to drink
42.
If she wanted the camp she would have just had it built, not snuck the aluminum in my sandal
43.
I know when I broke that one, and saw how much money is in just one, I saw it was as much money as I once thought Ava had
44.
«She got it at half price from Ava, but with her fortune Ava could buy a place like that every year and just leave it
45.
That’s what Venna did was just leave, not even a note and signature turning it over to me
46.
With that and his old place, he could buy a pretty nice place in town, a couple acres on the lagoon just a little ways down the point
47.
There is so much information out there but just monitor where you are
48.
Tom screams, paralyzed, as one just stares at him, not eating him
49.
It just stares at him, watching him scream
50.
«It’s not about you Jorma, just like it’s not about Tdeshi
51.
You are just innocent bystanders that Ava happened to run into along the way
52.
what or who is judging you; you just care only about what
53.
What if you were to just do 30 second bursts of
54.
He knew she would never be back to explain, he was just one of those people in the way
55.
Sam had just finished his masterclass in Nutritional awareness, and was preparing his papers to leave, when the auburn haired model approached his table
56.
He kept pining away for a blond girl he spent only one sleep with who was only passing thru Sinbara didn’t he? The one he met just before Ava
57.
So who did he want to share this sunshine with this dawn? That girl heading north, why did her face spring to mind, just because she was so exotically Elvish? It had been years, she was a cartoon in his mind now, it had been two meals and a sleep
58.
Sam was surprised at the crowds at the Oodle Festival, held just outside Berlin in the July of that year
59.
“I’m not going to just let her die
60.
He had to go find her, well maybe not today, but instead of just wishing she was here
61.
“I’m just glad I could help on such short notice
62.
“I just need to check that he’s breathing properly
63.
It was years too soon, he thought, but he hadn’t paid enough attention had he? Or was he just too drunk at the time? No one else seemed to think it was imminent, but there was no denying that it was something huge falling from the sky and it looked like it was aimed straight at the camp
64.
Ava’s week had started on a sad note when she saw Kulai off on the Flying Northwind just before Morningday lunch
65.
Just wait here while I check
66.
Just after the last one, the corridor became a wide and gradual staircase that lead to the floor above and a bridge to a court atop the next building
67.
He was said to be just sitting inside all day
68.
In just a couple of minutes, you will turn to the pages where you can put all of this new knowledge into action
69.
Remember, I said in the beginning that if you just read this book, you will gain knowledge, but if you do the work, you can transform your life! This book is designed to help you in the most efficient way possible
70.
I just got distracted
71.
I’ll just wrap it up for later
72.
He tried his best and it just wasn’t good enough
73.
YingolNeerie! Let’s pretend that you made up your own involvement, just what you’ve told me about it and what its powers are is thrilling
74.
Most of the times we just
75.
Him about what He teaches and do, He will just say what
76.
I wasn’t really in it, it was just an I/O device to me
77.
A huge study that tracked thousands of nurses found that those who ate just an ounce of nuts or peanut butter five times a week lowered their risk of Type 2 diabetes by at least 20%
78.
it’s just a matter of seconds to reach thousands of people that have asked to hear from you
79.
It was just the instincts of this body that turned her head when big, broad-shouldered men with cleft chins walked by
80.
You’ll always know just how well you’re doing with this kind of reporting
81.
You’ll use this info to sell targeted products back to your customers who have just told you what they want
82.
He just kept smiling and watching TV and dripping milk on his chin
83.
Tall wine bottles are great for this! Just dig a trench and place bottles standing up as a barrier around your garden, etc
84.
Two thousand years of foot traffic had worn the floors to rolling hills, the glass in the windows had sagged and the marble plumbing fixtures were heavily eroded, though they were just replaced a few centuries ago
85.
“Like chains,” the boy said, and Hermann thought that maybe he was silently going mad just while waiting in the terminal
86.
He did not have the strength to force her, it was not just the Instinct that kept her safe from him
87.
“I turn it on first thing in the morning, and then it’s up and running just before lunch time
88.
Underling’s back that he was just in the process of doing that very thing when he realized at the last moment that it might look like he was being sarcastic
89.
Ranching just wasn’t her thing and the photovoltaic craze was done
90.
These are just a few examples selected from IG commercial members’ catalogs, because I know these products and feel confident in recommending them to you
91.
Now he just had to locate Mr
92.
She had not been friendly with Kulai until just the past couple local years, she’d lived here a little over three months as she had counted time on Narrulla’s Tear
93.
We were just strangers
94.
“You’ll find everything you need is there for the numbers to make sense,” Henry continued, when he really should have just stayed quiet
95.
Henry had just delivered a sales report to his boss that was over a year old
96.
One was just clothes, some hanging up and some folded neatly in their little cubbyholes
97.
Their leader had died of an imported pathogen just three local years ago
98.
Vedanta is not a topic of books but just our vision to make a cognitive change to the way we respond to situations
99.
At three hundred people per square mile you can get away with it, at over a thousand like these people live, and a K-type sun, the energy flux just isn’t high enough
100.
For a moment, I just want to collapse here behind my ninja corpse wall, but then I hear Aiko
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Meanings of words and phrases -
Example sentences -
Similar words -
Translations -
Other types of questions
The meaning of «Just» in various phrases and sentences
Q:
What does just like that mean?
A:
Just like that is easier to give you examples so you can try and see if it makes sense to you.
We had fun, before we knew it the vacation was over, just like that!
She came here so fast, just like that!
Q:
What does just as well mean?
A:
The basic meaning of «just as well» is «good». We use it when something happens which is better than another option. We use it when we are relieved. Hopefully some examples will make it clearer.
Examples:
1. It’s just as well I remembered my keys, otherwise we would be locked out.
2. It’s just as well we brought packed lunch, there is nowhere to buy food here.
In 1 and 2, «good» could also be used instead of «just as well».
3. The film was very good.
4. I had a very good meal last night.
In 3 and 4, we cannot use » just as well» instead of «good» because there is no alternative suggested.
Hope that helps! Sorry it’s so long!
Q:
What does That’s just it. mean?
A:
Usually when I’m using this in a sentence I’m pointing out something that doesn’t fit that someone I’m talking with has referenced about someone or something not involved in the conversation and I’m about to explain why it seems not quite right.
Person 1: But your girlfriend didn’t go to that party she was over at her friends?.
Person 2: That’s just it though, I spoke to her friend and she says she wasn’t with her!
Q:
What does That’s the just of it mean?
A:
She may have meant to say «that’s the gist of it» which means that sums it up
Q:
What does «that’s just it» in 39 mean?
A:
«Thats whats strange about what happened» would be a longer way of saying what he is thinking
Example sentences using «Just»
Q:
Please show me example sentences with just .
A:
Just tell me the answer!
Can’t you just calm down?
My mother just doesn’t understand me.
Just hurry up!
Q:
Please show me example sentences with just. only. .
A:
A: There is just one zombie.
B: I have only one bullet!
A: Then you just can’t miss!
Only and just are the same in the first two examples.
The third shows that «just» can be used before a verb for emphasis.
Q:
Please show me example sentences with just.
A:
I’m glad they helped. I’ll try to explain them the best I can.
The first: «I’m just about to leave» is used when you are about to leave somewhere. For example: your about to go to a party at a friends house and they have messaged you to see if you are on your way. You would use the sentence I gave you if you were leaving but not quite out the door yet.
The second Sentence: «I’ll just put the lamp over here» is used when you put something (in this sentence a lamp) in a place momentarily until a place is decided for it.
The third: «He’s just a bit shy» just is used to say he is a little or a bit shy.
The forth: «just what do you think your doing?» Just is used in this question to make it sound more commanding or angry. It’s usually not a sentence you want to hear from someone. 😆
I hope these explanations worked and your pronunciation was great!
Q:
Please show me example sentences with It’s just as well.
A:
1. It’s just as well that you came here for help, since a lot of people speak english here.
2. It’s just as well that you looked both ways before crossing the street.
3. It’s raining a lot outside. It’s just as well that I brought my umbrella.
Q:
Please show me example sentences with just.
A:
-This is just the beginning.
-Just in time.
-That would be just great.
-I just want to go home.
Synonyms of «Just» and their differences
Q:
What is the difference between just and only ?
A:
I’ll take only one bite.
Just let me finish.
You can buy only one.
Just a moment.
Only you.
Just this.
Only — there is only ONE option of something
Just — can be used in different cases and can have different meaning
Q:
What is the difference between just and only ?
A:
They can be used interchangeably however, just can also mean fair. From my experience «just» is more casual, and overall more common than only.
Q:
What is the difference between just and only ?
A:
@bt987w: Only singles out something, just is more of a pushing command
«Just do it»
«Only do page 5»
Q:
What is the difference between just and only ?
A:
@SwarS: The word “just” has several possible definitions:
1) Recently
Be careful – I just washed the floor, and it’s still wet.
(= I washed the floor a few minutes ago)He just finished a big project.
(= he finished the project very recently)
2) Only
I have just one brother. (= I have only one brother)I thought you were hungry, but you atejust half of your sandwich.
(= you ate only half of your sandwich, and no more)
The word “only” can be replaced with “just” in most situations:
Only two students came to class on the day before Christmas.
= Just two students came to class on the day before Christmas.My kids only use the internet for schoolwork, not for playing games.
= My kids just use the internet for schoolwork, not for playing games.
In the expression “If only…” you can use “just” if you change the structure a little bit:
If only I had studied harder. I would’ve passed the test.
= If I had just studied harder, I would’ve passed the test.
Q:
What is the difference between just now and right now ?
A:
«Just now» indicates something very recently in the PAST.
«Just now I got an email from my mom.»
«Just now my boss called me.»
«Right now» indicates that something is CURRENTLY happening or that it will happen in the near FUTURE.
«I’m sitting at home right now.» (Current action that is happening)
«I’m going to the bank right now.» (Immediate future action that is about to happen)
Translations of «Just»
Q:
How do you say this in English (US)? ご迷惑をおかけしました。
Or just
迷惑
A:
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience.” or
“I’m sorry to have troubled you.”
迷惑 = inconvenience, nuisance, trouble, bother
Q:
How do you say this in English (US)? just so so 适用哪些场景
A:
This phrase seems to mostly be used by new English learners, and not often used by native speakers.
Everyone knows what it means, but it is very rare in everyday conversation.
That being said, you can use this phrase in a few situations if you still like it.
For example:
«How are you?»
«Just so-so.»
«Did you do well on your school exams?»
«Just so-so. I didn’t really study.»
«What do you think of this restaurant’s food? Is it good?»
«It’s so-so. I don’t like the way their pork tastes, but the noodles are ok.»
Q:
How do you say this in English (US)? just
A:
Check the question to view the answer
Q:
How do you say this in English (US)? just like that
A:
Check the question to view the answer
Q:
How do you say this in English (US)? just
A:
Your two pronunciations sounded the same to me.
«Just.» I’ll be there in just two minutes.» «Just do what he says.»
Other questions about «Just»
Q:
Please show me how to pronounce just.
Q:
Yeah just saying somthing that we want to do is really simple.
on the other hands, trying to do something that we want is more difficult. Does this sound natural?
A:
Yeah to say that we want to do something is really simple.
But trying to do the same is more difficult.
Or..
«It’s easier said than done» — this is a common phrase to use. Short and simple 
Q:
just because… Does this sound natural?
A:
Check the question to view the answer
Q:
I’m just here.
‘나 방금 왔어‘
Does this sound natural?
Q:
Oh just right now I was thinking about that too. Does this sound natural?
A:
«Oh, I was just thinking about that too.» Is more natural
Meanings and usages of similar words and phrases
Latest words
just
HiNative is a platform for users to exchange their knowledge about different languages and cultures.
- How do you say this in English (US)? 快递站点（where you go to pick the package）
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- How do you say this in English (US)? すみません、私はあまり英語が上手ではありません。もう一度お願いします。
- How do you say this in English (US)? どこにあるか分からなくなってしまった！
-
Which is appropriate?
1. I’m glad to have wonderful classmates.
2. I’m happy to have wonderful c… - Would it be natural to say ‘Thanks for clearing it up!’ to someone who’s helped me here with my E…
- What is the difference between client and customer ?
-
A. come back here, we miss you!
B. i’m not coming back, I like it here, finally I found a place t… - In a scientific paper, an English native editor corrected my sentence «any one of x, y, and z» in…
- 「」とは？
- How do you say this in English (US)? 抽卡
-
図書館へ勉強に行きます
図書館へ勉強しに行きます
どちらも正しいですか -
What does do u know what’s better than 69?
it’s 88 because u get 8 twice.please explain the jok…
- 正能量夜间网站不用下载直接进入入口
Just is most commonly used as an adverb together with the present perfect tense. In this context, just means ‘a short time ago’, and is positioned between the auxiliary verb (had/ have/has) and the past participle.
For example:
-
I’ve just spoken to John.
-
Have you seen what’s just happened to the share price?
-
They had just finished their dinner when the phone rang.
Just can also be used in place of the word «only»:
-
Can I have just a little bit of cake, please?
-
That’s just an excuse.
Although it is now old-fashioned, just can be used as a noun, relating to the concept of justice and standing in for ‘right’ or ‘correct’:
-
Given the severity of the crime, life imprisonment was just.
-
Her charity raises money for a just cause.
Finally, just is used in a wide variety of informal phrases:
- just a minute = wait
- just about = nearly
- just as well = for the best
- just help yourselves = go ahead
- just so = neat and tidy; precise
I am sure you have heard the advice. It usually begins, “It is easy….” and continues….
- You just run a bit faster to improve your marathon time
- You just go out and get some more clients, and sales will increase
- You just pull all your blogs together and you will have a book.
- You just train harder and you will become faster, better, more effective
- You just improve the products quality and people will buy more.
- Just sort it out!
Of course the danger with each of these pieces of advice is that they contain the word ‘Just’ in them. You should always be careful of sentences with the word ‘Just’ in.
What typically happens is that they contain absolutely no guidance, advice or suggestion about how you do what they are suggesting you do.
The word ‘just’ just sits there. It contains all the ideas of improving but nothing practical to help you deliver that improvement.
When an expert uses ‘just’
The biggest danger is when this comes from an expert. Especially one who is intrinsically good at their job, but is unaware of how to explain their competences or how to pass on their experiences to someone else. I am sure you have seen them. The computer shop experts are a great example. Their fingers just fly across the keyboard as they explain how you just configure the new device: lo and behold, it was that easy. Now even you could do it. (If only they had just explained what they did).
Beware of sentences with the word ‘Just’ in them
Changing ‘just’ to another word
How do we unpick what is going on here? When I come across words that create issues like this, I try swapping other words in their place to get the same meaning.
Just = simply
Simply works often. Simply sort it out, you simply run faster. Simply improve quality. What happens with simply is that it suggests it is extremely easy to make the change. It also makes the speaker sound more silly. “Really, you think it is that simple to improve quality – then you tell me how”.
Just = immediately
“I was just about to do it”, means I will do it very soon. Almost immediately in fact. So, just do it has a message of both simplicity and immediacy.
Omitting Just altogether
If you omit just from the sentences at the top, you get a different effect. Red them again, without ‘just’ in them:
- You run a bit faster to improve your marathon time
- You go out and get some more clients and sales will increase
- You pull all your blogs together and you will have a book.
- You train harder and you will become faster, better, more effective
- You improve the products quality and people will by more.
Interestingly, when I did this, and re-read them to myself, my instinct was to immediacy ask, “Oh and how do I do that….”.
It is as if adding ‘just’ to a sentence removes permission to ask, “How?”. Saying the sentences with out the ‘just’ in them, allows the space for people to say, “Well can you please explain how I can…..”
Just sort it out!
This is possibly the most dangerous example.
It’s an instruction, to “Sort it out”. However, it also contains an implied criticism as well as no advice. It suggests it is simple to sort out the problem and you should get on with it. (If you also read “…or else” into the sentence you are not alone.)
If you have not already “just sorted it out”, then there is probably a good reason, or something is stopping you. Or maybe the person sees it as a different sort problem to you, that is easier to solve. (They frame the problem differently, or have taken a decision and await action.)
Lessons to take away
Listen out for examples where people are using this phrase. When you hear it, just say. “it was suggested to me that I should always be careful of sentences with the word just in”. I guarantee it will get a laugh – a laugh of truth.
Another way to dig under this is to ask something along the lines of , “When you say just, what specifically do you think that will involve…?”
One final thought: Just always be careful of sentences with the word ‘Just’ in them. 
By Jacqueline Schaalje
When writing and speaking you want to be as clear as possible. In writing this is even more important, as the people you write to can’t see your face and the gestures you make with your hands (or feet!).
So the following tips are especially important for when you’re writing, although you can use them also when you speak.
Consider the following sentence(s):
1 I told the hairdresser to only cut my hair a little bit.
2 I told the hairdresser to cut my hair only a little bit.
3 I told the hairdresser only to cut my hair a little bit.
4 I told only the hairdresser to cut my hair a little bit.
So what do you think? Do these sentences mean the same?
Hm, well, I’m not sure.
I don’t think so.
Where Should You Put Only?
In English, when you want to say about something that it is the only thing (and nothing else), it’s best when you put “only” before the thing that is meant.
When you put “only” somewhere else in the sentence, we can still understand that there is something that is the only thing in the sentence, but we’ll need to guess what is is.
This problem doesn’t only apply to “only,” so in fact we can make this rule:
Put Just and Only In Front (of What They Modify)
If you use words like just and only, put them before the word(s) that you want to mean just and only. (There are some other words that we won’t talk about now, such as still and already, that use the same rule.)
So now let’s go over the four sentences with “only” again and see what each of them means.
1 I told the hairdresser to only cut my hair a little bit.
“Only” is before “cut my hair,” so this probably means that I would like the hairdresser to cut my hair, and not cut something else, let’s say my t-shirt.
That is a strange sentence, don’t you think? The person who said this probably means that they want only a little bit off their hair. So they ought to have said: I told the hairdresser to cut my hair only a little bit.
2 This sentence: “I told the hairdresser to cut my hair only a little bit” is clear and unambiguous. The person who says this wants a little bit cut off their hair, and not a big piece.
3 I told the hairdresser only to cut my hair a little bit.
This sentence isn’t clear, because we don’t know what the only refers to. Does the person want to say she wants only a little bit cut off her hair? Or does she mean that this is the only thing she told her hairdresser?
To make the sentence unambiguous, the following options are possible:
A I told the hairdresser to cut my hair only a little bit. This is the example we saw in 2.
Or B: The only thing I told my hairdresser was to cut my hair a little bit.
In B, you’re expressing that this is the only thing she told her hairdresser (and she didn’t say any other thing).
4 I told only the hairdresser to cut my hair a little bit.
This sentence is clear and unambiguous. It means that the this person told only the hairdresser about what she wanted done to her hair, and not other people. So we can be sure she didn’t tell the milkman.
Okay, I hope you’re beginning to understand this a little bit.
But if not, here is another example. Now we’ll talk about some sentences with “just.”
1 They were just married when they fell in love.
2 They were married when they just fell in love.
3 They were married just when they fell in love.
4 They were married when they fell just in love.
Let’s see… Do you think these sentences mean the same?
Hmm, no…
Again, we can understand that “just” applies to the thing that comes right after it.
However, there is an additional problem with just, which is that it can mean different things:
A not long ago, just a minute ago, recently.
B only.
C simply.
So you see, lots of room for interpretation. But it sure helps when we put “just” in the right place in the sentence.
1 They were just married when they fell in love.
Just married, this means the two people were married not long ago.
2 They were married when they just fell in love.
They just fell in love. They couldn’t help it, love was so strong that they simply fell in love. Even though they were married. Oops! Can happen to the best of us.
3 They were married just when they fell in love.
Here “just” comes before “when,” so we know that the meaning of just must be something connected to time, so just probably means not long ago. Therefore this sentence must mean that they were married at the same time that they fell in love. It sounds a bit strange, but theoretically it should be possible: The two people fell in love (perhaps not with each other), but then they were married (to other people). We’d surely need more information here to understand what the heck is going on.
4 They were married when they fell just in love.
Just in love, so here “just” could mean they only fell in love, that is to say this is the only thing they did. It could be much more than fall in love, or it could be much worse. They could also fall from a cliff or fall from their chairs, but instead they fell only in love.
Or “just” could mean they simply fell in love. They couldn’t help it, this is what happened. If you choose this interpretation, there is no difference with the meaning in 3.
As you can see, this sentence has two different interpretations, because the position of “just” wasn’t chosen well, but also because just has different meanings anyway.
Time for you to practice a little bit!
Quiz
Do this quiz online here.
Choose what the likely meaning is of the following sentences.
1 He thought it would be fun to tell just one very bad joke before the dinner.
2 I just want my children to grow up healthy.
3I saw Ms Dickens just when she crossed the street carrying her big shopping bag.
4 Maybe it was only my imagination, but I saw something moving behind the window.
5 She has only one good friend, but she talks to lots of people.
6 What can you expect: he’s just a kid.
7 I need only to put these clothes away and then I’m ready to go out.
8 Why do you want to go out only on a Saturday?
9 I’m just too busy during the week.
Want to do more quizzes that improve your writing?
Here are some random quizzes that you’ll probably enjoy:
Verbs that Must Have an Object
Reason and Result: So and Because
Using Whose to Combine Sentences
Most Certainly and Almost Certainly Etc.
Juste can imply either “simplicity” or a “low count” of something (I’m leaving out the meaning related to justice). Sometimes, for clarity, you might want to switch between « juste » to mean a low count and « simplement » to mean simply. There’s one specific use for the word in English that can’t be translated directly, where the simplest solution is to start the sentence with « C’est juste que » (It’s just that…).
Je veux juste dire que (to add one thought) / Je veux simplement dire que (to reword a thought or summarize something).
“I just miss you” needs a complete rewording. Technically it’s « Tu me manques », and you can’t work this to add a « juste ». The closest would be « C’est juste que tu me manques » (It’s just that I miss you — kind of in a familiar tone). Another way to say it would be « Je m’ennuie de toi », but if you said « Je m’ennuie juste de toi » it would mean « I miss only you ».
Je dois juste le faire.
Je ne comprends juste pas (that’s fairly common in Québec, but it’s probably an anglicisme). That’s a good case where using simplement would be safer: « Je ne comprends simplement pas ».