UNIT ELEVEN Conjunctions and conjunctives linking clauses in compound sentences (1) A This unit and the next one deal with conjunctions (e,g, yinwei, , - ff\iil sudyi, fQ^ danshi) and conjunctives (e.g. M jiii, ^ cai, £p que) which link clauses together in compound sentences, A conjunction may occur in the first or second clause and may be placed either before or immediately after the subject/ topic whereas a conjunctive, which is in fact a referential adverb functioning as a link word, may only occur in the second clause and it must be placed immediately before the predicate/comment: yinwei zuotian xid yu I sudyi yundonghu) z&nling Because it rained yesterday, the sports meeting was (therefore) cancelled, yinwei 'because' and p/rti sudyi 'therefore' are both conjunctions.) zuolifin xft yu I yundonghui que zhaochang juxing It rained yesterday but the sports meeting went ahead as planned. (£fJ que 'on the other hand' is a conjunctive.) Quite often a conjunction (in the first clause) and a conjunctive {in the second clause) work together for the linkage: WMBUX • fte£P?£7 * yu suirdn hen da I ta que lai le He came in spite of the heavy rain./AI though the rain was heavy, he did (however) eome. suiran '(although' is a conjunction and ij] que 'on the contrary' is a conjunctive.) Note: By clauses we mean subject-predicate or topic-comment constructions which are pan of a larger compound sentence. If the subjects/topics or the objects of the linked clauses are the same, they are usually omiUed in (be second clause; (H#Jtt»»l&l» 1 fliJaKTifi--' {ymwii) ta paG de h£n kuai I suoyitie k di yi Because she ran very fast, (therefore) she came first. (RS/ft^EJftifc^* < Pk&Mi^K ' iymwK) ni bu xDiuan chl pinggud i suoyi w« mei mM Because you don't lifce apples, (therefore) i didn't buy any. 66 Unit 11 B The most commonly used conjunctions and conjunctives are: (1) but, yet, however conjunctions: njjg kěshi, fETrfií rán'ér, buguo conjunctive: ±JI quě wó xiang qú canjiá yínyuéhui i kishi méi you píao 1 wanted/want to go to the concert, but í didn't/don't have a ticket. ^$M$>%, - 0 ta sbíbái duo ci J ren'er bing bu huixin He failed many times, yet he certainly did not lose hope. w5 hui shuó yingwén J bitgab wo dóng de cí bii duo 1 can speak English but I don't know many words. zhe/zh&l jian shí hěn zhóngyáo I wň que bá ta wáng te This (matter) is really important, but I forgot all about it. although ... (yet),,. paired conjunctions: Šik suirán .. . jHdanshi,. . sutráft wó xué guo éyů I danshi quán wáng le Even though I have studied Russian, 1 have forgotten it all. (2) otherwise, or conjunctions: ^jFJj fóuzé, bíirán ni děf xiáoxin jiáshi I /á«zť hui chu shigii You should drive carefully, or you'll have an accident. wd niánji da le (bitrán wó hul qú canjjft ymiyóng blsái I am getting old, otherwise I would take/have taken part in the swimming competition. Unit 11 67 (3) or conjunction; hudzh£ zhe/zhei jian shi you ni fuze I huozhH you wd fuze You or I should be responsible for this, (lit. This business is either up to you to take responsibility or up to me to take responsibility.) either ... or paired conjunctions: yaome... yaome ..., Tfil biishi... WL $k jiushi. . . jin wan wd yaome qu tushuguan kanshu, yaome qu shiyanshi zud shiyan This evening I'll either be going to the library to do some reading or going to the laboratory to do some experiments, zai hai bian dujia de shihou I women mfii tian biishi chi yu I jiushi chl xie When we were spending our holiday by the sea, we ate either fish or crabs every day. (lit____if we didn't eat fish, then (we) ate crab,) Nous; la alternative-questions, iliii hifebi rather than hutah£ should be used: xhe/jEhei jun idu ni qu ban I hdishi wit qu ban Will you deal with this matter or shall I? (4) moreover, also conjunction: [fiiH e>qi£ zhfe/zhei ge xuesheng h£n congming I erqie h£n qfnftn This student is very intelligent and also very industrious. not only ... but also . . , paired conjunctions; ^{S. budan/^iX bujin ... MR erqieV1£3E shenzhi,.. 68 Unit 11 atfl^ift&ifc ■ maxima - ta budan hui shuo yfngwen I orftf hui shuo dewen Not only can she speak English but she can speak German as well. ta bujin hui zhong hui I shenzhi hui zhong cai He can not only grow flowers but he can even grow vegetables as well. (5) therefore conjunction: @i£fc yinci ta jlngchang sahuang I yftidf dajifl bu xiangxin ta He often tells lies so nobody believes him. because . .., (therefore) paired conjunctions: yfnwei... j-'fri^ suoyi... yinwei La zhuanxin xuexi I sudyi jlnbu hen da Because she has been concentrating on her studies, (therefore) she has made great progress. because (of) conjunction: rrj-T youyu iTS&^rt* fft^7^£ - y6uyu lii tai hua I la shuai le yl jiao Because the road was slippery, he fell over. Note: #j | - y^uyu 'owing to', 'due to' may also function as a preposition. It is then followed by a noun instead of a clause: youyii gfe zn6ng yudnyla I U m&yftu chart zhe/zhei d hulyi Owing to various reasons, he did not attend this meeting. (6) since ..., (then). . , conjunction followed by conjunctive; jiran . . . M(:Z)$L na(me) jii. . . /wwi ni mei kong ! noytu g&i ri zai t&ti ba Since you arc busy, let's talk about it some other day. Unit 11 69 BE&ftilTaSift ' USfcfiT » jlrdfl ta bu yuanyi I na jiu suan le Since he is not willing, let's leave it at that. (7) as long as ..., (then) . . . conjunction followed by conjunctive: £i zhiyao , .. M jiu . , . RMfoMM^ * SswtfftffP 0 zMiyao ni yuanyi xue I wo jiu jiao ni As long as you are willing to learn, (then) I'll teach you, only if/when . . . conjunction followed by conjunctive: R'^~ zhiyflu . , . cai. . . (lit. and only then) zhfydu dajla huxi&ng zhichf I cdi neng wancheng zhe/zhei xiang renwu Only if we all support each other will we be able to complete this task, unless conjunction followed by conjunctive; chuffci,.. ~tc£i or by conjunction: ^fffit buran/iSHJij fouze ... m^mm.m > $tA'&%M * chufei jiaotong ziise I wd cdi but chidao I won't be late unless there is a traffic jam. chdfei ni mei tian chi yao I burdn/fouze ni de bing hao bu liao le Unless you take the medicine every day, you won't get well, (8) no matter, regardless paired conjunctions: ■f^ buguan . , . i£M haishi.. . conjunction followed by conjunctive: %\\> wulun/^iS bulun. . . ife y& 'still', 'in addition 7# dou 'all', 'in every case' .. . bugudn ftng dud da J feijl haishi zhaochang qlfei No matter how strong the wind is, the plane will take off as usual, wulunlbulun jiaqian duo gui I la ye yao mai No matter how expensive it is, she will still want to buy it. 70 Unit 11 wutitn/biilitn lian du6 re I tfi dan xi reshui zao No matter how hot it is, he always takes a hot bath. (9) on the contrary paired conjunctions: ^ftj budan bu/mei... ♦ £rfii fan'er . .. ftf'ffH^NiS:^ T SifilM^T a yu budan bu/mei ting ! fdft'er geng da le Instead of-letting up, the rain came down even harder. {lit. Not only has the rain not stopped, but (on the contrary) it is even heavier.) The list of conjunctions and conjunctives continues in Unit 12. Exercise 11.1 Complete the Chinese sentences below with appropriate conjunctions and/or conjunctives to match the English: i-*~r<* - n-«ttf *i* * -tianqi duo leng I wo--. xi lengshuf z£o No matter how cold it is, I always take a cold shower. 2 m^mfik#_—&mzmi ni xiflng yao heibaj jiaojuan I_caise jiaojuan Did you want black and white or colour film? ta xie Je yi ben mingzhu I_zai lishi shang you le yi xi zhi di She wrote a famous book, and so won a place in history. 4 r a ' %---%m-m't o t& zheme yi ge re'n I ni_di ta__hen ta You can either love or hate someone like him. —~— yu xia de dud da I xuexiao yundongbui-zhaochang jinxing The school sports day will go ahead as planned no matter how heavy the rain is. 6__. mt&^wr • n .--■ --na/nei ge baizi bian hao le I -fangxin Only when that cliild is butter will I stop worrying, 7-J£f£a •.__* __- shi chengren I_xuexiao de hiia y£ zhidao zhe/zhei yi dian It's nol just adults, even schoolchildren would know that, s--jum^ >-ft=Fmm^» —— gongzuo h£n xlnku i _~_w6 gait de hen gaoxing It's hard work but I enjoy it. Unit 11 71 9 fo^M^-fa_- W tft7 * tft mfty6u chi zaofan I_„ (ta) e 1e She's hungry because she didn't have breakfast. io-&m&m±&'--mirt®p ■ --zhe/zhei jian fangjian tai re I-w6 da kai le chuanghu I opened the window because it was very hot in the room. ii morns &<_$&£fe3£f»£7■ la tixing le w6 i-w6 jiu hui ba zhe/zhei jian shi wang le She reminded me of what I would have otherwise forgotten. 12___i^mu^^im >_mnzmx - __„-hi wufa huida zheTzhei ge wenli I_wdmen qii wen bieren If you can't answer the question, we'll ask someone else. 13 ffeM^M ■-KftU^iMM' ■> la rlngran yflu dian ganmao t_qilfl fangmian dou zhengchaug He's still got a bit of a cold, but otherwise he's all right. 14 .................ffr%ffiT&'k '_„_ SZiSJ^TfrSj« -ni biaoshi le juexin I_ylnggai jian zhF yu xingdong Since you have proved your determination, you should go ahead/take action. 15 *_- ftSBSJT • gankuai I_ni yao chidao le Hurry up, or you'll be late. 16 t^Tffil<-JEfitWft - w6 mai le baozhi I_hai meiyou dii I bought a newspaper but I haven't read it yet. 17 _fftJH] • _° _ni wen I w6_huida ni Since you asked me, Til answer. is-ffi^m^ ■ &_nm^rn ° ___Ifl xian xi£ xin gii wfi 1 w6_xi£ xin gei ta I wou't write to him unless he writes to me first. 19 m_E-mm ■ =#m$■> ta-xihuan du shi 1_xihuan iri£ shi She likes reading poems, but she also likes writing them. 20 m&ram ■-im^&^mxm ° ta zhe/zhei ge ren h£n guaj I — ni jin bu zhu hui xihuan ta She is a funny girl, but you can't help liking her. Exercise 11.2 Complete the following sentences to provide a full translation of the Engtish: 1 e^-m^ft^'_* zhe shi yi zuti piaoliang dc fangzi i_ This is a nice house, but it hasn't got a garden. 2 •____0 wd lei le I_ I was tired so 1 went to bed. 72 Unit 11 3 ^S^TMrF '_~- ° wd jin bu liao wiui I_- I can't get into the house because [ can't find the key, 4 - ——° wdmen jin win &hang dianyingyuan qu I--_ Let's go to the cinema tonight or we won't get to see the film. zhe/zhei wfei yisheng sufran hgn ydu jingyan I_- Although the doctor is experienced. I am stilt very worried. 6 D^LtK^C© •_— 0 nar shui tai zang I_- The water there was so dirty that nobody wanted to swim. Exercise 11.3 Translate the following into Chinese: 1 As it's raining, yon might as well stay at home 2 You won't get a goo J job unless you study hard, 3 No matter how fast you run, you are bound to be late. 4 As long as you are honest everyone will like you. 5 If she isn't crying then she*s making trouble. 6 Are we eating at home or eating out tonight? 7 Although he has been to Japan a few times, he can't speak any Japanese. 8 Are you going to France or Italy for your holidays? 9 They always talk about politics and so no one will go to see them. 10 If the weather was good, 1 would either go fishing or go hill-walking. UNIT TWELVE Conjunctions and conjunctives linking clauses in compound sentences (2) A Conjunctions and conjunctives (continued): (1) if. . . (then). . . conjunctions followed by conjunctives: ip^ rúgud/Š£# yaoshi. ., &t jiu ..., -flSfé jiáshi/JSíP p&cút&E jiánio... U jiu ... rúguó/yáoski zái bú xiá yů I shuikú li de shui jiu biu gan le If it doesn't rain any more the reservoir will dry up. jiashtljiérúfjiáruó tá wů fén zhong něi bú lái I women jiu bú déng le If he doesn't turn up in five minutes, we won't wait any longer. Note: The phrase '.,. (f-jrf;' de huifc is yiien used at the end of the first cluu&e either by itself or together with a conjunction Like fó^ rúguů: irúgaS) HiiogtiaD xíé xuě de futů I women j/ů bú qů páshůn le If it snows tomorrow we won't go hiil-walking/cHmbing- Nole: It is possible to foim an 'if... then .. .* sentence without using a conjunction in the first clause: ' MlSfc^iJKSUYr' » mJngttón xiá xoé I wAmenjiu bii qů páshaa Je I fit stiows tomorrow we won't go hill-walking/cJimbing. (2) even though, although, even if paired conjunctions: jínguán . ,. fBjřĚ dánshi. . . conjunctions followed by conjunctives: ^If jínguán,,. háíshi mm jísbí. . . m yé . . . , TO nápá/E^ jiúsuán ... til ye ■ ■ ■ jlngudn ta yóu hěn duo qián I dánshi bing bú gándáo xíngfú Although he is very rich, he isn't happy. 74 Unit 12 jmguan zhfe/zhei dao ti fain nan E ta farisfc/ zuo chulai le Evea though it was a difficult question, he was able to do it, jishX ni h£n mang I ye d£i choukong lai yi tang Even if you are very busy, you'll have to tind time to (come and) visit. zhe/zhei shuang xie napa/jiusuan chuan shi nian I ye chuan bu po Even if you wear this pair of shoes for len years, they will not wear out/ you won't wear them out-Note: Conjunctions like Hffitfl nipa and stW jiusuan refer to potential rather than actual events. (3) .,, would rather,,. than ... paired coujunctions: yuqi.. . fBM^U dao buru ... (irt/as regards'/ 'compared with .. . 'it does not compare with Vis as good as...'), T ningke .,. j&F ye bu ... yuqi chu qu kan dianying I dao buru zai jia kan dianshi I would rather stay at home and watch television than go out and see a film. (lit. Rather than going out to see a film, it is riot as good as watching television at home.) w6 ningki zijl zuo ! yi bil yao bieren bang I would rather do it myself than ask other people for help. (4) ... in order to ..., so that, . . conjunction: J^M yibian l&oshl zai beiban shang bi. zi xi£ de h£n da i yibian hou pai de tongxue y£ n£ng kan qlngchu The teacher wrote the characters very large on the blackboard so that pupils on the back row could also see them clearly. ... (in order) to avoid conjunctions: yimiao, &f§= miande Unit 12 75 These conjunctions are usually placed before the verb in the second clause: qing nl fang qmg ji&obu S yimian chao xing dajia Please walk quietly to avoid waking everybody up, chuan shang ni de waitao I miande zhanliang Put on your coat to avoid catching cold/so that you won*t catch cold. (5) as soon as . . , paired conjunctives: — yi... £fc jiu , .. ft-ftp . ftfifflWiWt-'giQ w6 yi kaikou I ta jiu daduan wo de hua As soon as 1 opened my mouth, he interrupted me, not until.,., ... and only then .. , paired conjunctives: zhi hou . . . A' cai ta zheme shuo le zhi h6a I wit cdi huangran dawu It was only when/after he said so that it dawned on me/I realised. (6) while .... also ... parallel conjunctives: -j£ yibian/ yimian . . . — j£ yibian/—IE yimian ... fft—jBjj£E£ - -i£/-M-B - ta yibianfyimian chlfan i yibidniyimian kanshu He ate as he read ./He read while he ate. both . ., and.......as well as . .. parallel conjunctives: X you ... X you . . . fifiX^HHiiL * X^m^" laydu hui hua huar \ybu hui xie shT He can paint as well as write poems, the more . . . the more . . . parallel conjunctives: 4£ yue . . . |£ yue .. . 76 Unit 12 dianying yué jíngxián I tayuě xOiuan kan The more thrilling the film was, the more he enjoyed it. Ttuéyue xiayué dá The snow came down more and more heavily. B Clauses may also be linked in compound sentences by placing the same interrogative pronoun or adverb in each clause. In these sentences the interrogative pronouns or adverbs take on indefinite meanings ('anyoneV'whoever', 'anywhere'/ 'wherever1* 'anything Vwhatever') and Wt jiú will often appear in the second clause. shéiiskuí you kúnnan ! women jiú bungzhú shéiiskuí We will help anyone who is in difficulty ./Whoever has difficulties, we will help them. náii yóu míngshéng gýjl! noli jiú yóu lái guánguáng de yóuke Anywhere/Wherever there is a place of scenic beauty or historical interest, there will be tourists coming to visit/to see it. íftígféft^ ' Stifeff-íi ° ni xiáng chi skénme I jiú chí skénme You may eat anything/whatever you like. (lit Whatever you want to eat, you may eat it.) jfcZ&W.• $Hj3ťE&fl!la ni zénme shuo I wó jiu zénme zuo I'll do it any way/whichever way you like. (lit. Whatever you say, I will do it that way.) Exercise 12.1 Complete the following Chinese sentences with appropriate conjunctions or conjunctives to match the English: 1 m__^»¥*fe.h° ta_ráodao zóu 1_bii cái zái cáodi shang He would rather go round than tread on the grass. 2_»^.Ki±^# • -_mm&&$> - _..___ta méiyůu sháng guo dáxué I_ta důng de hen duo Even though she's never been to university she knows a lot. Unit 12 77 ___kúnnan zái dá I women-néng kěfú No matter if the difficulties get worse, we can still overcome them. _shuó shi cuxin dáýi I-shuň shi bú fu zérén It's not so much carelessness as irresponsibility. 5 nnwrn-T •_____mm%% - wů zái shuomíng ylxiá Í-yínql wiihui To avoid any misunderstanding, let me explain once again. ni-dángchú ting wů de huá f xiánzái-bú htii rě sháng zhĚ7 zhei xiě máfan le If you had listened to me, you wouldn't have got into the trouble you are in now, wů tízáo lai le I_rang ní zái huiyi qián kán yíxiá wů de jiánggáo I came early so that you could read my speech before the meeting. _ní yůuli I_bú ylnggái fáhuů a You shouldn't have lost your temper even if you were in the right. deng dáo cáoméi shú le I wů_kěyi qú cái le I'll pick the strawberries when they are ripe, io &i£7 > m_° -yě shěn le I la-— zai gongzuo Although it was late, he was still working, li_mtt^ifrM > b---- » ___ 4á dá diánhuá lái í ní_tongzhi wó If she telephones, let me know. 12 n_' ?m-■ rfe f$m-xm * wů_ _tá jín jidmén I wáimian_xiá qi le qingpén dá yů As soon as I stepped in the door, it began to pour down outside. Exercise 12.2 Translate the sentences below into Chinese using the parallel coustructions giveu in brackets: 1 They chatted over a cup of tea. (—j£j yibian . . . yibian . . .) 2 She can drive as well as ride horses. (X you ... X you ...) 78 Unit 12 3 The more angry she became, the more he laughed at her. (fli yue... @ yue ...) 4 You can say whatever you like. 0f+:£, shenme ... f+ii shenme. . .) 5 Wherever you go I'll go loo. ffiJL nar. ^JLnar...) 6 So saying, he made for the door. (—"E yimian ,.. ™-U yimian ...) 7 You may choose whoever is suitable, (it shei/shui... it shei/shui...) 8 The snowball got bigger and bigger as it rolled along. (M yue... yue ...) Exercise 12.3 The following Chinese sentences are incorrect or inappropriate translations of the English. Make (he necessary corrections in each case: 1 HE—?f W' * lmju yi kai yinyue I wo cai Lou leng My head started to ache as soon as the neighbours started playing music. 2 4fi^^^t£ - f£?l"£]liK ° ta shengqi de hua I w6 cai qu daoqian If she's annoyed then I'll go and apologise. laoshl jiangke de shengytn hen da I weile dajia neng ling qingchu The teacher spoke in a loud voice as she taught the lesson so that everyone could hear clearly. 4 ^fS-tttJ ' MS 3:£a yuqi shang guanzi I dao zyi zhu I'd rather cook myself than go to a restaurant. 5 ^i^fffeT ' ftWr£*mPJ - huiyi kaishi le I ta cai meiydn gan dao He sriU hadn't arrived when the meeting started. zhiyou ni niili I jiu ylding neng xue hao hanyu You'll be able to learn Chinese as long as you work hard. 7 %±fo&i&=p' jag£S*fe \-.mm ° chuan shang ni de xuezi I yibian zai xuedii shang hua dao Put your boots on so you don't slip on the suow. 8 » —nSitinHl^« ta yimian tan qm I yimian ye chang ge He can sing at the same time as playing the piano. waimian xia zhe da xue I que ta zhi chuan zhe yi jian chenshan He had only a shirt on despite the heavy snow outside. ni xihuan he shenme I wo jiu gei ni dao na/nei ge I'll pour out for you whatever you'd like to drink. Unit 12 79 Exercise 12.4 Translate the sentences below into Chinese: 1 Come and sec me as soon as you get back, 2 Hven if you get back late, come and see me. 3 I would rather get back today than wait to sec you tomorrow. 4 I can't come and see you until I get back. 5 If you can't get back now, come and see me later. 6 I will come back immediately to avoid not seeing you. 7 I will see anyone who gets back today, 8 I will see you any time you can get back.