Learn Hardcore Chinese: Jiàoshì tài chǎo le, tā shòubuliǎo, jiù qù túshūguǎn xuéxí. - The classroom is too noisy; she can’t stand it, so she goes to the library to study.

In many contexts, 太 + adjective + 了 expresses “too … (to tolerate)”, often negative:
- 教室太吵了 = The classroom is too noisy (to study, to stay there, etc.).
In spoken Chinese, people sometimes use 太 + adj + 了 as a strong “so / really” (not clearly negative), e.g.:
- 太好了！ = That’s so great!

But in your sentence, because she can’t stand it and leaves, the meaning is clearly negative: the classroom is too noisy.

What does the 了 in 太吵了 do? Is it past tense?

Here, 了 is not a simple past-tense marker. It’s doing one (or both) of these:

Sentence-final 了 showing a new situation / change:
- 教室太吵了 suggests “The classroom (has become / is now) too noisy.”
It also makes the sentence sound more natural and complete in this exclamatory pattern 太 + adj + 了.

So 太吵了 is closer to “(It’s) just too noisy!” rather than a pure past tense like was too noisy. Chinese doesn’t mark tense the same way English does; context gives you time.

What exactly is 受不了? Is 不了 a separate word? Why not just say 不能受?

受不了 (shòubuliǎo) is a verb + potential complement structure:

受 = to bear, to endure, to stand
不 = negative
了 (in this combination) = part of the potential complement pattern

So 受不了 literally means “cannot be borne / cannot be endured”, i.e. can’t stand (it).

Why not 不能受?

不能受 is understandable, but sounds more formal/odd and is much less common.
受不了 is the natural, everyday way to say:
- 我受不了 = I can’t stand it.
- 她受不了这么吵的环境 = She can’t stand such a noisy environment.

So learn 受不了 as a fixed, very common pattern meaning “can’t stand / can’t take it.”

What is the function of 就 in 就去图书馆学习? Does it mean “then” or “so”?

就 here links the result / next action to the previous situation. It can feel like:

so / then / and so (she)

The logic is:

教室太吵了，她受不了，
The classroom was too noisy; she couldn’t stand it,
就去图书馆学习。
so/then she went to the library to study.

Nuances of 就 here:

Shows that her going to the library is a direct, natural, immediate reaction to not being able to stand the noise.
Without 就, 去图书馆学习 still makes sense, but 就 makes the connection and sequence clearer and smoother.

So you can think of it as “so she went…” or “then she (just) went…”.

Why isn’t there a subject before 就去图书馆学习? Shouldn’t it say 她就去图书馆学习?

Chinese often omits repeated subjects when they’re obvious from context.

First clause: 她受不了 → the subject 她 is clear.
Next clause: 就去图书馆学习 → it’s understood that the subject is still 她, so it’s dropped.

Both are grammatical:

教室太吵了，她受不了，就去图书馆学习。 ✅ (very natural)
教室太吵了，她受不了，她就去图书馆学习。 ✅ (also correct; a bit more explicit)

Omitting the repeated subject is normal and very common in Chinese when the subject doesn’t change.

Could we change the word order to 她受不了教室太吵了，就去图书馆学习? Is that okay?

Yes, you can say:

她受不了教室太吵了，就去图书馆学习。

This focuses a bit more on what she can’t stand:

她受不了教室太吵了 = She can’t stand that the classroom is too noisy.

Both orders are acceptable:

教室太吵了，她受不了，就去图书馆学习。
- Topic: the classroom is too noisy → her reaction.
她受不了教室太吵了，就去图书馆学习。
- Topic: she can’t stand how noisy the classroom is.

The meaning overall is the same; it’s mostly a matter of emphasis and style.

Why do we use 去图书馆学习 and not 在图书馆学习?

The difference is:

去图书馆学习 = go to the library to study (focus on going there)
在图书馆学习 = study in the library (focus on the location of the studying)

In this sentence, the key reaction to the noisy classroom is that she leaves that environment and goes somewhere else, so 去图书馆学习 is natural:

She goes to the library and studies (there).

You could say:

教室太吵了，她受不了，就在图书馆学习。

…but that sentence sounds like you’re just stating where she studies, without clearly expressing the movement away from the noisy classroom. The original 去图书馆学习 highlights that she changes location.

Is 吵 an adjective or a verb here? How should I think about 教室太吵了?

In 教室太吵了, 吵 is functioning as an adjective meaning noisy.

Structure: [subject] + 太 + adj + 了
教室太吵了 = The classroom is too noisy.

But 吵 can also be a verb meaning to make noise / quarrel:

别吵！ = Don’t make noise! / Stop arguing!
他们在那儿吵。 = They’re making a racket / arguing over there.

So:

吵 as an adjective: 很吵, 太吵了, 好吵啊 → noisy
吵 as a verb: 别吵, 吵得我睡不着 → to make noise / disturb

In your sentence, it’s clearly adjectival (describing the classroom).

Can we say 太吵了，我受不了 without 教室? Would that sound natural?

Yes, that’s very natural in conversation:

太吵了，我受不了。
= It’s too noisy, I can’t stand it.

In context, people will understand what is too noisy (the room, the street, etc.). Chinese often drops obvious subjects when they’re clear from the situation.

The full sentence 教室太吵了，她受不了 just spells out that it’s the classroom that is noisy and that she is the one who can’t stand it.

What’s the difference between 学 and 学习 here? Could we say 就去图书馆学?

学习 is the more standard / neutral word for to study / to learn.

学 by itself can mean:

to learn / to study (something specific):
- 学中文 = study Chinese
- 学开车 = learn to drive

In 就去图书馆学习, 学习 sounds very natural and complete.

就去图书馆学 is not wrong, but:
- It sounds incomplete unless you add an object: 学中文, 学数学.
- By itself, 学 often expects what you’re learning.

So in this sentence, 就去图书馆学习 is the best, most natural choice.

How can we tell whether this sentence is past or present? There’s no explicit tense.

Chinese doesn’t mark tense like English does. Instead, it uses:

aspect markers (like 了, 过, 着)
time words (昨天, 现在, 明天, etc.)
context and sequence words (like 就)

In your sentence:

教室太吵了，她受不了，就去图书馆学习。

The sequence A is noisy → she can’t stand it → she (then) goes to the library naturally suggests a past event / a narrative in English.

But grammatically, it could also describe a typical reaction (whenever this happens, she does that), especially if you add something like 每次:

教室一太吵，她受不了，就去图书馆学习。
Whenever the classroom gets too noisy, she can’t stand it and goes to the library to study.

So tense is inferred from context, not directly from verb forms.

Are there similar expressions to 受不了? How is it different from 忍不了 or 受不住?

Yes, there are close synonyms, with slightly different flavors:

受不了
- Very common, colloquial
- General “can’t stand / can’t take it”
- Works for noise, heat, pain, pressure, behavior, etc.
忍不了 (or 忍不住 in other structures)
- 忍 = to endure, to put up with, to hold back
- 忍不了 = can’t endure / can’t tolerate (often with a sense of patience running out)
- 忍不住 more often means “can’t help (doing something)”:
  - 我忍不住笑了 = I couldn’t help laughing.
受不住
- Very similar to 受不了, but can feel a bit more dramatic / intense or used for strong physical or emotional burden:
  - 这么大的压力，我受不住。 = I can’t take this much pressure.

In your sentence:

教室太吵了，她受不了 is the most natural, default choice for “she couldn’t stand it (anymore).”