Lesson 19: Complex sentences without connectors (hypothesis, cause and effect) and common pairs of connectors

In spoken Chinese, connectors are often omitted: hypothetical and cause-and-effect relationships are understood from word order; common connector pairs from the exercises are also included.

Hanyu textbook · Hanyu 4 · Lesson 19

有困难找警察。

Yǒu kùnnan zhǎo jǐngchá.

If you have a problem, find a police officer.

Explanation

In everyday spoken Chinese, word order alone is generally used to show the logical connection between clauses. As long as the meaning is clear and logical, connecting words are generally not used. In fact, however, a certain logical relationship is always implied between those clauses.

There are two types: sentences expressing a hypothetical relationship (understood as 要是……就……) and sentences expressing a cause-and-effect relationship (understood as 因为……所以……).

The textbook's exercises also use full pairs of connectors: 要是……就……, 虽然……但是……, 因为……所以……, 一……就…… .

Structure

1
Vế 1Vế 2 (giả thiết) = 要是……就……
A sentence expressing a hypothetical relationship; even without a connector, it is understood as "if ... then ...".
- 有困难找警察。= 要是有困难就找警察。
  Yǒu kùnnan zhǎo jǐngchá. = Yàoshi yǒu kùnnan jiù zhǎo jǐngchá.
  有困难找警察。 = If you have a problem, find a police officer.
- 你去我就去。= 要是你去的话，我就去。
  Nǐ qù wǒ jiù qù. = Yàoshi nǐ qù de huà, wǒ jiù qù.
  If you go, I'll go. = If you go, I'll go.
- 下雨就不去了。= 要是下雨的话，就不去了。
  Xià yǔ jiù bú qù le. = Yàoshi xià yǔ de huà, jiù bú qù le.
  If it rains, we won't go. = If it rains, we won't go.
- 要是明天下雨，我们就不去长城了，我们去唱卡拉OK吧。
  Yàoshi míngtiān xià yǔ, wǒmen jiù bú qù Chángchéng le, wǒmen qù chàng kǎlā OK ba.
  If it rains tomorrow, we won't go to the Great Wall; let's go sing karaoke instead, okay?
2
Vế 1Vế 2 (nhân quả) = 因为……所以……
A sentence expressing a cause-and-effect relationship; even without a connector, it is understood as "because ... so ...".
- 不小心把护照丢了。= 因为不小心，所以把护照丢了。
  Bù xiǎoxīn bǎ hùzhào diū le. = Yīnwèi bù xiǎoxīn, suǒyǐ bǎ hùzhào diū le.
  Carelessly lost my passport. = Because I was careless, I lost my passport.
- 不小心把裤子烧破了。= 因为不小心，所以把裤子烧破了。
  Bù xiǎoxīn bǎ kùzi shāopò le. = Yīnwèi bù xiǎoxīn, suǒyǐ bǎ kùzi shāopò le.
  Carelessly burned a hole in my pants. = Because I was careless, I burned a hole in my pants.
3
虽然……但是……
Connector pair from the textbook's exercises (concession – contrast).
- 她虽然感冒了，但是还来上课。
  Tā suīrán gǎnmào le, dànshì hái lái shàngkè.
  Although she has a cold, she still comes to class.
- 我觉得汉语虽然很难，但是也很有意思。
  Wǒ juéde Hànyǔ suīrán hěn nán, dànshì yě hěn yǒu yìsi.
  I think Chinese is difficult but also very interesting.
- 她虽然对中国画很感兴趣，但是画得不太好。
  Tā suīrán duì Zhōngguó huà hěn gǎn xìngqù, dànshì huà de bú tài hǎo.
  Although she is very interested in Chinese painting, she isn't very good at painting.

Usage notes

Connector pairs must match: 虽然 goes with 但是, 因为 goes with 所以, 要是 goes with 就, 一 goes with 就.
The textbook's exercises also include the pair 一……就……: 我哥哥大学一毕业就参加工作了 (My older brother started working as soon as he graduated from university).

Common mistakes

~~虽然她的身体不太好，所以她每天锻炼。~~
因为她的身体不太好，所以她每天都锻炼
~~因为她感冒了，但是还来上课。~~
她虽然感冒了，但是还来上课
~~她对中国画很感兴趣，画得不太好。~~
她虽然对中国画很感兴趣，但是画得不太好
~~我虽然觉得汉语很难，也很有意思。~~
我觉得汉语虽然很难，但是也很有意思
~~要是你想去，就打电话我。~~
要是你想去，就给我打电话

Practice

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