刚、刚才、刚刚

The three words has similarities and differences.

刚 is an adverb (= a short time ago, could be 5 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day, 1 month, or even 1 year. As long as it feels recent).

刚才 is a time noun (= a short time ago, could be 5 minutes, 1 hour).

刚刚 is the combination of 刚才 and 刚刚.

Just Now

Subject + 刚 + Verb + 了
Subject + 刚才 + Verb + 了
Subject + 刚刚 + Verb + 了
刚才 + Subject + Verb + 了
刚刚 + Subject + Verb + 了
刚 + Subject + Verb + 了

他刚才哭了。(He was crying a moment ago but he has stopped.)
= 他刚刚哭了。
= 他刚哭了。
= 刚才他哭了。(time can be before subject)
= 刚刚他哭了。
= 刚他哭了。(very spoken, grammatically incorrect.)
He was crying just now.

你刚才说什么了？
= 你刚刚说什么了？
= 你刚说什么了？
= 刚才你说什么了？
= 刚刚你说什么了？
= 刚你说什么了？(very spoken, grammatically incorrect.)
What did you just say?

= 谁刚才来了？
= 谁刚刚来了？
= 谁刚来了？
= 刚才谁来了？
= 刚刚谁来了？
= 刚谁来了？(very spoken, grammatically incorrect.)
Who came just now?

negative form:

我刚没说什么。
= 我刚才没说什么。
= 我刚刚没说什么。
= 刚才我没说什么。
= 刚刚我没说什么。
= 刚我没说什么。(very spoken, grammatically incorrect.)
I didn’t say anything just now.

刚才的 + verb
刚刚的 + verb

刚 can’t be used this way.

刚才的事情太让人生气了。
What just happened is really upsetting.

A: 你刚才去哪儿了？
Where did you go just now?
B: 我去厕所了。刚回来。
I went to the restroom. I just got back.
A: 刚才的声音你听到了吗？
Did you hear the sound just now.
B: 刚刚听到了。怎么了？
I heard it a moment ago. what happened?

Just Started Doing

刚 + verb (without 了)
刚刚 + verb (without 了)

刚才…了 is rarely used here because 了 means the action has completed

他刚到。(This suggests that not only did he just get here, but he is still here.)
= 他刚刚到。
= 他刚才到了。(understandable, but not recommended)
He just arrived.

我们昨天刚到。
= 我们昨天刚刚到。
= 我们昨天刚才到了。 (刚才 can’t represent a day ago.)
We just arrived yesterday.

天刚晴。
= 天刚刚晴。
The sky just became clear.
Note: 天刚才晴了 is ambiguous because 了 also means the action has completed. It is usually interpreted as “The sky was clear, but it is no longer clear now."

我刚看书。
= 我刚刚看书。
I just started reading book.
Note: 我刚才看书了 means I’ve finished reading. I’m not reading it now.

With Time

Subject + 刚 + Verb (+ Obj.) + Duration
Subject + 刚刚 + Verb (+ Obj.) + Duration

= Just did something … ago.

This can also be expressed as:

• Subject + 才 + Verb (+ Obj.) + Duration
• Subject + 只 + Verb (+ Obj.) + Duration
• Subject + 仅仅 + Verb (+ Obj.) + Duration

Examples:

我刚认识他十天。
= 我刚刚认识他十天。
I just met her ten days ago.
you can also say:
我才认识他十天
我只认识他十天
我仅仅认识他十天

我刚工作半年。
= 我刚刚工作半年。
I just started working half a year ago.

我的车刚买两天，开的时候小心点。
我的车刚刚买两天，开的时候小心点。
I just bought the car two days ago. Be careful when you drive.

When I first time did something

刚 + verb + 的时候
刚刚 + verb + 的时候

我刚到上海的时候，谁都不认识。
= 我刚刚到上海的时候，谁都不认识。
I didn’t know anyone when I had just arrived in Shanghai.

我刚开车的时候，很紧张。
= 我刚刚开车的时候，很紧张。
When I first drove, I was very nervous.

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