刚【gāng】

刚 goes right before the verb and says the action has only just happened. "Just" can mean a minute ago or a few days ago; what counts is that it feels recent.

With a length of time after the verb, 刚 says how short a time it has been.

刚…就 "had only just … when"

刚 in the first half and 就 in the second say the second thing came straight after the first, often unwelcome.

刚 or 刚才

刚 is an adverb: it sits after the subject, right before the verb. 刚才 is a time word, "a moment ago", and can go before the subject. Only 刚才 takes 没 or 不 after it.

• × 刚他走了 → 他刚走
• × 我刚没吃饭 → 我刚才没吃饭