Beginner Guide to Chinese Grammar, part two
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4
Unit 5
Unit 6
Unit 7
Unit 8
Unit 9
Unit 10
Unit 11
Unit 12
Unit 13
Unit 14
Unit 15
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2.8.3 因为…… 所以…… (yīnwéi… suǒyǐ…) – structure – Because…, (therefore)…
How to express reason and result
因为 (yīnwéi)
reason
所以 (suǒyǐ)
result
| Yīnwèi 因为 because |
xiàyǔ le, 下雨 了， to rain |
suǒyǐ 所以 therefore |
wǒ huí jiā. 我 回 家。 I go home |
| Because it was raining, I went home. | |||
We use the structure 因为……所以…… (yīnwéi… suǒyǐ…) to introduce reasons and results. Note that Chinese tends to give the reason first, following the actual timeline of the event or situation.
Example sentences:
- Yīnwèi nǐ shēngbìng le, suǒyǐ yào chī yào.
因为 你 生病 了，所以 要 吃 药。
Because you fell sick, you need to take medicine.
- Yīnwèi tā lèi le, suǒyǐ bù xiǎng qù yóuyǒng.
因为 她 累 了，所以 不 想 去 游泳。
Because she’s tired, she doesn’t want to go swimming.
- Yīnwèi tā yào qù huǒchēzhàn, suǒyǐ bù néng qù dǎ lánqiú.
因为 他 要 去 火车站，所以 不 能 去 打 篮球。
Because he needs to visit the train station, he can’t go to play basketball.
Omitting 因为 (yīnwéi)
reason
所以 (suǒyǐ)
result
You can omit 因为 (yīnwéi) “because” from this structure, and it would make the sentence sound somewhat informal.
Example sentences:
- Tā de bàozhǐ kěnéng mǎicuò le, suǒyǐ yào huíqu shāngdiàn.
他 的 报纸 可能 买错 了，所以 要 回去 商店。
He might have bought the wrong newspaper; therefore, he needs to go back to the store.
- Wǒ tóngxué jīntiān bù qù shàngkè, suǒyǐ wǒ yě bù xiǎng qù.
我 同学 今天 不 去 上课，所以 我 也 不 想 去。
My classmate is not going to class today; therefore, I don’t want to go either.
- Cóng jīchǎng dào bīnguǎn yào 5 fēnzhōng, suǒyǐ tā zǒulù qù.
从 机场 到 宾馆 要 5 分钟，所以 她 走路 去。
It takes five minutes to go from the airport to the hotel; therefore, she goes there walking.
Putting the result first
result
是 (shì)
因为 (yīnwéi)
reason
To emphasize the result, we can flip the order of reason and result around. Note that we do not use 所以 (suǒyǐ) in this order.
Example sentences:
- Tā zuò zài wǒ hòumiàn yīnwèi tā bǐ wǒ gāo.
她 坐 在 我 后面 因为 她 比 我 高。
She sits behind me because she’s taller than me.
- Bàba méiyǒu qù Běijīng yīnwèi tā qùnián qùle.
爸爸 没有 去 北京 因为 他 去年 去了。
Dad didn’t go to Beijing because he went there last year.
Emphasizing with 是 (shì)
You can add 是 (shì) before 因为 (yīnwéi) for the purpose of emphasis, similar to “the reason… is/was that…”
Example sentences:
- Tā wèn shì yīnwèi tā méiyǒu tīngdǒng.
他 问 是 因为 他 没有 听懂。
The reason he asked was that he didn’t understand.
- Nǐ yào qù kàn yīshēng shì yīnwèi nǐ shēngbìng le.
你 要 去 看 医生 是 因为 你 生病 了。
The reason you need to go see a doctor is that you got sick.
Only stating the reason
因为 (yīnwéi)
reason
Example sentences:
- Jiǎ: Tā wèi shénme bù kěyǐ kàn zhège diànyǐng?
甲：她 为 什么 不 可以 看 这个 电影？
A: Why can’t she watch this movie?
Yǐ: Yīnwèi tā 3 suì.
乙：因为 她 3 岁。
B: Because she’s three years old.
- Jiǎ: Tā wèi shénme bù ràng nǐ lái tī zúqiú?
甲：他 为 什么 不 让 你 来 踢 足球？
A: Why won’t he let you come play soccer?
Yǐ: Yīnwèi xiànzài yǒudiǎnr wǎn.
乙：因为 现在 有 点儿 晚。
B: Because it’s a bit too late now.
