Grammar Reference

尽管⋯⋯，但是/可是⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · 尽管 (jǐnguǎn)⋯⋯，但是 (dànshì)/可是 (kěshì)⋯⋯

• 尽管这次考试很难，但是很多人都通过了。 Jǐnguǎn zhè cì kǎoshì hěn nán, dànshì hěn duō rén dōu tōngguò le. Though this exam was hard, many people passed.
• 尽管外面在下雨，可是他一定要去超市买东西。 Jǐnguǎn wàimiàn zài xiàyǔ, kěshì tā yídìng yào qù chāoshì mǎidōngxi. Though it's raining outside, he insists on going to the supermarket to shop.

一旦⋯⋯，就⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · 一旦 (yídàn)⋯⋯，就 (jiù)⋯⋯

• 一旦考试不及格，我就要延期毕业了。 Yídàn kǎoshì bùjígé, wǒ jiùyào yánqī bìyè le. If I fail the exam, I will have to postpone my graduation.
• 一旦地铁建成，堵车的情况就可大大缓解。 Yídàn dìtiě jiànchéng, dǔchē de qíngkuàng jiù kě dàdà huǎnjiě. Once the subway is built, traffic congestion will be greatly eased.

要是⋯⋯，（就）⋯⋯，否则⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · 要是 (yàoshi)⋯⋯，（就 (jiù)）⋯⋯，否则 (fǒuzé)⋯⋯

• 要是他不去，我也不去了，否则我一个人去太危险了。 Yàoshi tā bú qù, wǒ yě bú qù le, fǒuzé wǒ yígèrén qù tài wēixiǎn le. If he isn't going, I won't go either — going alone would be too dangerous.
• 要是明天下雨，我们就不去爬山了，否则会冻感冒的。 Yàoshi míngtiān xiàyǔ, wǒmen jiù bú qù páshān le, fǒuzé huì dòng gǎnmào de. If it rains tomorrow, we won't go hiking — otherwise we'll catch a cold in the chill.
• 一旦养成坏习惯，就很难改变。 Yídàn yǎngchéng huài xíguàn, jiù hěn nán gǎibiàn. Once a bad habit takes hold, it is very hard to change.
• 孩子一旦发烧，就赶快送去医院。 Háizi yídàn fāshāo, jiù gǎnkuài sòngqù yíyuàn. Once a child runs a fever, send them to the hospital right away.

假设复句

除非⋯⋯，才⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · 除非 (chúfēi)⋯⋯，才 (cái)⋯⋯

• 除非你答应我，我才和你一起去。 Chúfēi nǐ dāying wǒ, wǒ cái hé nǐ yìqǐ qù. Only if you promise me will I go with you.
• 除非你努力学习，才有可能考上大学。 Chúfēi nǐ nǔlì xuéxí, cái yǒukěnéng kǎoshàng dàxué. Only if you study hard is it possible to get into college.

除非⋯⋯，否则/不然⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · 除非 (chúfēi)⋯⋯，否则 (fǒuzé)/不然 (bùrán)⋯⋯

• 除非坐飞机去，否则肯定来不及了。 Chúfēi zuò fēijī qù, fǒuzé kěndìng láibují le. Unless we fly there, we certainly won't make it in time.
• 除非你仔细检查，不然太容易舟错了。 Chúfēi nǐ zǐxì jiǎnchá, bùrán tài róngyì zhōu cuò le. Unless you check carefully, it's far too easy to go wrong.

⋯⋯，因而⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · ⋯⋯，因而 (yīnér)⋯⋯

• 他生病了，因而没来上课。 Tā shēngbìng le, yīnér méi lái shàngkè. He was sick, and so didn't come to class.
• 她按时完成了任务，因而受到公司的奖励。 Tā ànshí wánchéng le rènwu, yīnér shòudào gōngsī de jiǎnglì. She finished the task on time, and so was rewarded by the company.

即使⋯⋯，也⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · 即使 (jíshǐ)⋯⋯，也 (yě)⋯⋯

• 即使天气不好，爬长城的人也不会少。 Jíshǐ tiānqì bùhǎo, pá chángchéng de rén yě bùhuì shǎo. Even if the weather is bad, there will be no shortage of people climbing the Great Wall.
• 他即使生病了，也坚持工作。 Tā jíshǐ shēngbìng le, yě jiānchí gōngzuò. Even when he is sick, he keeps working.

⋯⋯，为的是⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · ⋯⋯，为的是 (wèideshì)⋯⋯

• 我把车停在外面，为的是走的时候方便。 Wǒ bǎ chē tíng zài wàimiàn, wèideshì zǒu de shíhou fāngbiàn. I parked the car outside, so that it's convenient when leaving.
• 她给你发这个信息，为的是提醒你注意安全。 Tā gěi nǐ fā zhège xìnxī, wèideshì tíxǐng nǐ zhùyì ānquán. She sent you this message to remind you to stay safe.

⋯⋯，以便⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · ⋯⋯，以便 (yǐbiàn)⋯⋯

• 我们要早一点儿出门，以便乘坐第一班公交车。 Wǒmen yào zǎo yìdiǎnr chūmén, yǐbiàn chéngzuò dìyī bān gōngjiāochē. We should leave a little earlier so as to catch the first bus.
• 她每天步行上班，以便锻炼身体。 Tā měitiān bùxíng shàngbān, yǐbiàn duànliàn shēntǐ. She walks to work every day so as to get exercise.

没有⋯⋯就没有⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · 没有 (méiyǒu)⋯⋯就没有⋯⋯

• 没有你的帮助就没有我的成功。 Méiyǒu nǐ de bāngzhù jiù méiyǒu wǒ de chénggōng. Without your help there would be no success for me.
• 没有水就没有生命的存在。 Méiyǒu shuǐ jiù méiyǒu shēngmìng de cúnzài. Without water there would be no life.

再⋯⋯也⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · 再 (zài)⋯⋯也 (yě)⋯⋯

• 这件事再难也要坚持下去。 Zhè jiàn shì zài nán yě yào jiānchíxiàqù. Hard as it is, this must be seen through.
• 雨下得再大我也要去上班。 Yǔ xià de zài dà wǒ yě yào qù shàngbān. However heavy the rain, I still have to go to work.

二重复句1：单句+复句；复句+单句

Sentence type / compound sentence · 二重复句1(单句 (dānjù)+复句 (fùjù)/复句 (fùjù)+…)

• 我决定去中国留学，即使中文再难我也要去学。 Wǒ juédìng qù zhōngguó liúxué, jíshǐ zhōngwén zài nán wǒ yě yào qù xué. I've decided to study in China; however hard Chinese is, I will go and learn it.
• 因为生病所以我没去上课，没想到的是老师一下课就来看我了。 Yīnwèi shēngbìng suǒyǐ wǒ méi qù shàngkè, méixiǎngdào de shì lǎoshī yíxià kè jiù lái kàn wǒ le. I missed class because I was sick — what I never expected was that the teacher came to see me the moment class ended.

用“再也不/没”表示强调

Emphasis with 再也不/没 · 用 (yòng)“再也不/没 (méi)”表示强调

• 从今天开始，我再也不会出这种错了。 Cóng jīntiān kāishǐ, wǒ zàiyě bùhuì chū zhèzhǒng cuò le. Starting today, I will never make this kind of mistake again.
• 他再也没跟我联系过。 Tā zàiyě méi gēn wǒ liánxì guò. He never contacted me again.

用副词“可”表示强调

Emphasis with 副词“可 · 用副词“可 (kě)”表示强调

• 你可来了，急死我了！ Nǐ kě lái le, jí sǐ wǒ le! Here you are at last — I was worried sick!
• 你可得注意身体呀，天天睡眠不足可不行！ Nǐ kě de zhùyì shēntǐ ya, tiāntiān shuìmián bùzú kě bùxíng! You really must look after your health — running short of sleep every day simply won't do!

用“怎么都/也+不/没”表示强调

Emphasis with 怎么都/也+不/没 · 用 (yòng)“怎么都/也 (yě)+不 (bù)/没”表示强调

• 她怎么都没想到自己会失败。 Tā zěnme dōu méixiǎngdào zìjǐ huì shībài. It never occurred to her that she might fail.
• 他怎么也不会猜到谁要来看望他。 Tā zěnme yě bùhuì cāi dào shuí yào lái kànwàng tā. He would never guess who is coming to visit him.

X也不是，Y也不是

• 他这样开玩笑，气得我哭也不是，笑也不是。 Tā zhèyàng kāiwánxiào, qì de wǒ kū yě bú shì, xiào yě bú shì. His joking like this made me so angry I could neither cry nor laugh.
• 一看来了这么多人，他紧张得坐也不是，站也不是。 Yí kànlai le zhème duō rén, tā jǐnzhāng de zuò yě bú shì, zhàn yě bú shì. Seeing so many people arrive, he was so nervous that he could neither sit nor stand at ease.

X也X不得，Y也Y不得

X也X不得，Y也Y不得 · X也 (yě)X不得 (bùdé)，Y也 (yě)Y不得

• 他腰疼起来的时候站也站不得，坐也坐不得。 Tā yāo téng qǐlai de shíhou zhàn yě zhàn bùdé, zuò yě zuò bùdé. When his back acts up, he can neither stand nor sit.
• 孩子大了，骂也骂不得，打也打不得。 Háizi dà le, mà yě mà bùdé, dǎ yě dǎ bùdé. The child has grown — you can neither scold nor spank them anymore.

X是它，Y也是它

• 好是它，坏也是它，你没有别的选择。 Hǎo shì tā, huài yě shì tā, nǐ méiyǒu biéde xuǎnzé. For good it is, for bad it is — you have no other choice.
• 成功是它，失败也是它，这个选择我绝对不后悔。 Chénggōng shì tā, shībài yě shì tā, zhège xuǎnzé wǒ juéduì bú hòuhuǐ. For success it is, for failure it is too — this choice I absolutely do not regret.

X着也是X着

X着也是X着 · X着也是X着 (zhāo)

• 明天我去超市逛逛，反正闲着也是闲着。 Míngtiān wǒqù chāoshì guàngguang, fǎnzhèng xián zhe yě shì xián zhe. I'll stroll the supermarket tomorrow — idle time is idle time anyway.
• 那些衣服她不喜欢了，放着也是放着，不如送人吧。 Nàxiē yìfu tā bù xǐhuan le, fàng zhe yě shì fàng zhe, bùrú sòngrén ba. She no longer likes those clothes; sitting idle as they are, better to give them away.

X归X，Y归Y

X归X，Y归Y · X归 (guī)X，Y归 (guī)Y

• 想归想，做归做，结果完全不一样。 Xiǎng guī xiǎng, zuò guī zuò, jiēguǒ wánquán bùyíyàng. Thinking is thinking and doing is doing — the results are entirely different.
• 吵归吵，闹归闹，大家还是好朋友。 Chǎo guī chǎo, nào guī nào, dàjiā háishi hǎopéngyou. Quarrel as we may, fuss as we might, we are still good friends.