動不動就grammar point · tier 2 · 動不動就… (at the slightest provocation; readily and too often)
Frozen A-不-A adverb: at the least stir, the consequence fires right away, and keeps firing — the speaker holds the trigger too slight.
字源 FORM what the parts do
動 is force going in until the thing gives (力 strength, 重 lending the sound); 不動 sets it against its own negation, moved-or-not. The pair locks into one reading: the least stir, anything at all. 就 carries the step already taken, the consequence following without a gap.
故事 STORY a scene to remember it by
A hair-trigger set so light a breath trips it; the smallest touch, and it goes off, and goes off again.
字源記憶法
框 · Frame
[subj] 動不動就 [verb/result] （了）
觸 · Trigger
You want to flag that something fires off far too readily, at the slightest excuse, again and again.
序 · The move
1Place 動不動就 right before the verb of the consequence.Is the consequence a recurring, easily-set-off reaction, not a one-time event?
2Leave the trigger unsaid — 動不動 already means 'at the least thing'.Did I avoid naming a specific cause? The point is that almost nothing sets it off.
3Keep the speaker's judgment: the reaction is excessive or too frequent.Would a neutral 'as soon as X' lose the 'too readily / too often' charge? If yes, 動不動就 is the right choice.
例 · Examples
1他最近的情緒mood; emotions很不穩定unstable，動不動就at the slightest provocation; readily哭to cry。
His moods have been all over the place lately; he bursts into tears at the slightest thing.
一…就… ties a result to one named first event, neutrally (the instant X, then Y). 動不動就 names no trigger and judges the reaction as too slight-set and too frequent.
✗ 我動不動就去了一次北京。 → ✓ 我去過一次北京。 (動不動就 needs a repeatable, over-frequent reaction, not a single past event)
✗ 動不動就下雨了，所以我帶傘。 → ✓ 看起來要下雨了，所以我帶傘。 (動不動就 carries 'too readily/too often', not a one-off forecast)
English 'every time / at the drop of a hat' tempts learners to supply an explicit trigger clause; 動不動就 carries the trigger inside itself and takes only the consequence.