What does 就 mean in 你怎么就睡在这里了呀？

Question

你怎么就睡在这里了呀？

Searching 就 up on the Chinese Grammar Wiki gives a pretty long list of usages, and I have no idea what (if any) is most applicable.

Answer 1

The sentence still makes sense, even if you remove 就.

你怎么睡在这里了呀？

Therefore, 就 is an adverb here, and emphasizes the verb, "sleep".

A few more examples are from 现代汉语词典:

表示加强肯定

我就知道他会来的，今天他果然来了
我就不信我学不会
那就是他的家
幼儿园就在这个胡同里。

_{现代汉语词典, page 697}

Answer 2

Do a Search Q&A (on the upper right field) on 就 and you will find extensive discussions on this character.

Simply put: '就' in '你怎么就睡在这里了呀?' Means 'just'.

Without further context, 'just' in "Why are you just sleep here?' Can carry different meanings too. For example: 'simply; only; merely; right away; then; must' and so on. Or even as a particle for emphasis

Answer 3

你怎麼就睡在這裡了呀? - figuratively, "of all places, why are you sleeping here?" vs 你怎麼睡在這裡了呀? - "why are you sleeping here?"

This is a very interesting question. In this sentence, I feel it's used to convey a sentiment for emphasis, similar to: 就是啊 就是啊! vs 是啊 是啊!

In preparing my answer, I went through a google search of my own. I did find this old post, and perhaps it could be helpful to you: How is 就 (jiù) used?