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Grammar: “一…就…” vs "…了…就…”

A common confusion for beginners is the difference between these two structures: 1) 一V1就V2 ; 2)V1了就V2

Both structures somehow try to express how fast action V1 happens after V2 by inserting the adverb "就” in between. However, these two structures are slightly different regarding "how fast" the second action V2 happens.

a. 我 一 吃飯 就 想睡覺。
b. 我 吃了 飯 就 想睡覺。

In sentence A, the person starts to feel asleep right after he/she starts to eat. In other words, he/she hasn't finished eating. It's very likely that the person is not going to finish the meal at all.
In sentence B, however, the person starts to feel asleep right after he/she finishes eating, for the "了” here indicates the completion of V1. This sentence sounds more natural because it's human nature.

Beware that in both two structures, we can find a duration in the first action V1(that's why we find the commencement and/or the completion of such action), although we might not usually express te duration with that verb.

For example, we'd never say "下課下10分鐘”, which sounds like "to end the class for ten minutes". However, we do say sentences like "他一下課就回家(He went home right after the end of class. He might not have even packed things up.)” and "他下了課就回家(He went home right after the end of class. He packed up everything before he left.). The difference between these two sentences is too subtle that sometimes native speakers cannot even tell.

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