Linking sentences means showing the reader how one idea relates to the next: order, reason, contrast, addition or condition. Chinese uses short connector words for each. This lesson helps you add them with the right logic, inside foreign-language reading and writing.
The paragraphs here are original and written for practice, with pinyin where it helps.
Which connector does which job?
| Job | Connector | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Order | 先…然后…最后 | 我先做作业，然后看书，最后睡觉。 |
| Reason and result | 因为…所以… | 因为下雨，所以我们没去公园。 |
| Contrast | 但是 / 可是 | 我想去，但是我没有时间。 |
| Adding | 而且 | 这家店很便宜，而且很干净。 |
| Condition | 如果…就… | 如果明天不忙，我就去看你。 |
Connectors usually sit at the start of a clause. In 我先做作业 (wǒ xiān zuò zuòyè), 先 comes after the subject and before the verb.
A step-by-step method
- Write the plain sentences first, one idea each.
- Ask how each pair is related: order, reason, contrast, addition or condition.
- Add the matching connector and check the clause order.
- Read it aloud once. If you stumble, a connector is probably in the wrong place.
Worked example
Plain sentences (original, about an invented student):
我星期六很累。我早上没起床。我下午去图书馆。我做了作业。
Wǒ xīngqīliù hěn lèi. Wǒ zǎoshang méi qǐchuáng.
Wǒ xiàwǔ qù túshūguǎn. Wǒ zuòle zuòyè.
Step 2. Sentences 1 and 2 are reason and result. Sentence 3 contrasts with the lazy morning. Sentence 4 adds what happened there.
Step 3. Linked paragraph:
星期六我很累，所以早上没起床。但是下午我去了图书馆，而且在那里做完了作业。
Xīngqīliù wǒ hěn lèi, suǒyǐ zǎoshang méi qǐchuáng. Dànshì xiàwǔ wǒ qùle túshūguǎn, érqiě zài nàlǐ zuòwánle zuòyè.
The paragraph now says the same facts and also shows why and how they connect.
A plausible mistake
A student writes: 因为我很累，但是我睡觉了。 The connector 但是 says “contrast”, but being tired and sleeping do not contrast. They are reason and result.
The correction: 因为我很累，所以我睡觉了。 Before you add a connector, say the relation in one word (reason, contrast, order). Then choose the connector that matches that word.
Check yourself
1. Join with a suitable connector: 我喜欢咖啡。我不能喝太多。
Show answer
The relation is contrast: 我喜欢咖啡，但是我不能喝太多。
2. Order these ideas with 先…然后…最后: 吃饭 / 洗手 / 买菜
Show answer
One logical order: 我先买菜，然后洗手，最后吃饭。 Any order is fine if it is logical.
3. Is this correct? 如果明天下雨，所以我们不去海边。
Show answer
No. 如果 pairs with 就, not 所以. Correct: 如果明天下雨，我们就不去海边。
Where this leads next
Past and planned events need time words and the right sentence form in your linked sentences: see express past and planned events appropriately. The writing revision compare view is a good way to compare a plain draft and a linked one. Then try the practice set.
If you want a teacher to listen for where your paragraph breaks, online one-to-one Chinese tuition gives you that kind of feedback on your own writing.