早就……了 — The action was done far earlier than the listener assumes, and it stays settled into the present.

grammar → 早就……了

TSUMUGU · TBCL 4 (est.) · 語法

早就……了 grammar point · tier 1 · 早就…了 (long since, already way back)

The action was done far earlier than the listener assumes, and it stays settled into the present.

Hook inherited from 了.

The action was done far earlier than the listener assumes, and it stays settled into the present.

框 · Frame

[subj] 早就 [verb (+ 過)] 了

觸 · Trigger

Pushing back on a fresh-sounding claim: that was done long before now, far earlier than you think.

序 · The move

1Put 早就 before the verb, after the subject.Does 早就 sit before the verb, not at the head before the subject?

2Close the clause with 了 (keep 過 if the verb is an experience).Is the matter sealed as done, not still in progress?

3Read it back for the time gap.Does the deed land far earlier than a listener would expect, with the result still standing now?

例 · Examples

1說點別的吧talk about something else，這個故事他早就long since, way back already聽過has heard了settled, holds now。

Talk about something else — he heard this story long ago.

界 · Boundary

就 (promptness)

就 lands the action right behind a preceding trigger — sooner than expected. 早就 has no trigger; it shoves the completion far back down the timeline — long since, already done before you raise it.

了1 (plain completion)

Bare V了 reports the action finished, neutral on when. 早就…了 marks it finished much earlier than the listener assumes, pushing against their fresh framing.

他聽過這個故事了。 (neutral completion, no time gap) → 他早就聽過這個故事了。 (heard it long ago, far earlier than you'd think)

早就他聽過了。 (早就 fronted before the subject) → 他早就聽過了。 (早就 sits before the verb)

他早就聽過。 (open, no seal) → 他早就聽過了。 (了 closes it and carries it to now)

English 'already' floats and can stand alone; 早就 is fixed before the verb and leans on a clause-final 了 to seal the result, never dropped at the end by itself.