Breakdown of Новая грамматическая тема: конструкция «стоит + инфинитив, как ...» показывает, что второе действие происходит сразу.
Questions & Answers about Новая грамматическая тема: конструкция «стоит + инфинитив, как ...» показывает, что второе действие происходит сразу.
It is a fixed pattern meaning that as soon as the first action happens, the second one happens immediately.
A natural English equivalent is often:
- as soon as ...
- the moment ...
- it only takes ... for ... to happen
- once ... , immediately ...
For example:
- Стоит мне сесть, как звонит телефон.
= As soon as I sit down, the phone rings.
This pattern often suggests that the second action follows almost automatically.
Yes, it comes from стоить, which usually means to cost or sometimes to be worth. But in this construction, it does not mean literal cost.
Here it has an idiomatic meaning closer to:
- it only takes
- it is enough to
- once
So in стоит мне выйти, как начинается дождь, the meaning is not it costs me to go out. It means:
- As soon as I go out, it starts raining
- or It only takes me going outside for it to start raining