connective N3 common casualpolitewritten
〜とすぐに — as soon as ~
〜とすぐに ・ とすぐに
Meaning
- as soon as ~ / right when ~ — the second event follows automatically and immediately on the first
とすぐに is the と conditional ('natural/inevitable result') plus すぐに: 'the moment X, Y follows right away'. Because the base is と, it describes an automatic or habitual chain and resists commands or invitations in the second clause — 春になるとすぐに花が咲く ('as soon as spring comes, the flowers bloom'). For a planned action or a request, switch the base to たら (たらすぐ).
Key sentence
ベルが鳴るとすぐに、生徒たちは教室を出た。
As soon as the bell rang, the students left the classroom.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb dictionary form + と + すぐに | Vる + と + すぐに | 起きるとすぐに / 家を出るとすぐに |
Examples
彼は帰るとすぐにテレビをつける。
He turns on the TV as soon as he gets home.
薬を飲むとすぐに眠くなった。
As soon as I took the medicine, I got sleepy.
駅に着くとすぐに電話が鳴った。
Right when I reached the station, the phone rang.
Easily confused with
〜たらすぐ Both mean 'as soon as'; とすぐに (と base) describes automatic/habitual results and bars commands; たらすぐ (たら base) suits one-off, planned sequences and freely takes requests ('do Y as soon as X'). 〜と (result) Plain と already gives 'when/whenever X, Y'; adding すぐに just stresses that Y comes *immediately*, not merely as a consequence.
Notes
- Like the bare と-result, the second clause is a fact or automatic event — no 〜てください / 〜よう / 〜たい endings.
See 〜とすぐに in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜とすぐに the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in Jengo