<p>过去的事情就不要说了 means it's not necessary to mention those things in the past. Or it's not deserve to mention the things in the past. It implies that <em>just let it go</em> because it is just meaningless/helpless to the current situation. </p>

<p>就 here is kinda like the word <em>just</em>. So, 就不要 here is kinda like <em>just don't</em> because there is no use.</p>

<p>You should comprehend 就不要 as 就 and 不要 in this case. 不要 is like "don't" in an imperative sentence. For example, 不要说话: don't speak! 就不要说话了 is kind of suggestion, meaning <em>just don't say anything.</em></p>

<p>Another point is 过去的事情就不要说了 can be paraphrased as 就不要说过去的事情了. By pulling 过去的事情 ahead, it's like saying: <em>things passed, so just don't mention it</em>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-15T08:15:32.827Z
2018-07-15T11:04:37.813Z
2018-07-15T11:04:37.813Z
dan
<p>就要 doesn't always mean "about to", it can mean "have to". Here's an example</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>你要成績好就要努力</p>
</blockquote>

<p>where 就要 means "have to". (The whole sentence is "If you want good grades you have to work hard)</p>

<p>In your sentence, 就要 is negated from "have to" as "don't have to". The whole sentence translated would be</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>You <strong>don't have to</strong> talk of the past things.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-15T06:57:28.690Z
2018-07-15T06:57:28.690Z
paper1111
<blockquote>
  <p>过去的事情就不要说了?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>不要说了 means "don't talk about". 过去的事情 means "past stuff" or more idiomatically "the past". So 过去的事情不要说了 means "don't talk about the past/past events".</p>

<p>The 就 is a grammatical particle that doesn't really change the meaning of this sentence significantly. The translation of the 过去的事情就不要说了 (including the 就) would be the same as what I wrote above for the same sentence without the 就. </p>

<p>If you want to learn more about the uses of 就, there are many good articles and blog posts you can find on google.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-16T08:45:41.580Z
2018-07-16T08:45:41.580Z
Angus Macrae
<p>就要 normally <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_&quot;about_to&quot;_with_&quot;jiuyao&quot;" rel="nofollow noreferrer">means "about to"</a> but in this sentence the negated form makes the sentence hard to translate.</p>

<translation><grammar>
What's the function/meaning of 就不要 in 过去的事情就不要说了?
# What's the function/meaning of 就不要 in 过去的事情就不要说了?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-07-15)

就要 normally [means "about to"](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_) but in this sentence the negated form makes the sentence hard to translate.

**Tags:** translation, grammar

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-07-15. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

过去的事情就不要说了 means it's not necessary to mention those things in the past. Or it's not deserve to mention the things in the past. It implies that *just let it go* because it is just meaningless/helpless to the current situation.

就 here is kinda like the word *just*. So, 就不要 here is kinda like *just don't* because there is no use.

You should comprehend 就不要 as 就 and 不要 in this case. 不要 is like "don't" in an imperative sentence. For example, 不要说话: don't speak! 就不要说话了 is kind of suggestion, meaning *just don't say anything.*

Another point is 过去的事情就不要说了 can be paraphrased as 就不要说过去的事情了. By pulling 过去的事情 ahead, it's like saying: *things passed, so just don't mention it*.


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-07-15. Score: 0

就要 doesn't always mean "about to", it can mean "have to". Here's an example

> 你要成績好就要努力

where 就要 means "have to". (The whole sentence is "If you want good grades you have to work hard)

In your sentence, 就要 is negated from "have to" as "don't have to". The whole sentence translated would be

> You **don't have to** talk of the past things.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-07-16. Score: -1

> 过去的事情就不要说了?

不要说了 means "don't talk about". 过去的事情 means "past stuff" or more idiomatically "the past". So 过去的事情不要说了 means "don't talk about the past/past events".

The 就 is a grammatical particle that doesn't really change the meaning of this sentence significantly. The translation of the 过去的事情就不要说了 (including the 就) would be the same as what I wrote above for the same sentence without the 就.

If you want to learn more about the uses of 就, there are many good articles and blog posts you can find on google.


---

