你走到这儿的时候 他们早就离开了
“By the time we got here, they had already left.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
“Don't bother with petty tricks like that.”
你走 到这儿 的时候 他们 早就 离开 了
“By the time we got here, they had already left.”
“And my boss's men are watching you.”
“You are out of options and completely trapped.”
In Chinese confrontations, establishing that the opponent has miscalculated the timeline is a typical strategy to crush their morale.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
long ago / already
Emphasizes that an action occurred well before expected, often creating a sense of finality.
Indicates a completed change of state, underscoring that the opportunity has already passed.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“We did go there. But when we arrived, he was already dead.”
“Since we are already here,”
“We'll leave here one day.”
“We've come this far, and now you're scared?”
“We've already come this far.”