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HSK 4 · Sentence types › Complex sentences › Progressive clauses

Using 连……也/都……,……更…… to Show a Stronger Case

This pattern presents one case as surprising, difficult, or unlikely, then adds a second case that strengthens the point. Learn where 连, 也/都, and 更 go, and how context shapes the comparison.

连 focused phrase 也/都 first clause predicate , Second-clause subject or topic 更 stronger point
Example sentence

这家书店连晚上十点也开门,周末更晚关门。

Zhè jiā shūdiàn lián wǎnshang shí diǎn yě kāimén, zhōumò gèng wǎn guānmén.

This bookstore is open even at ten in the evening, and it closes even later on weekends.

The first clause focuses on the late opening time; the second says the closing time is later still on weekends.

Read the full explanation and examples

Meaning: one case, then a stronger one

The outline lists this as a level 4 pattern for a progressive compound sentence. Its shape is 连……也/都……,……更……: the first clause places an item in focus with 连 and 也 or 都; the next clause adds a case that supports the same point more strongly. The first case is often unexpected, difficult, or near the edge of what the listener would expect. The second case is presented as an even stronger reason to accept the claim. The outline establishes scope and level; these explanations and examples are original teaching material.

For example, a speaker might say that even a newly arrived colleague understood something, so someone who has worked on the project should have little trouble. The sentence does not merely list two people. It arranges them as evidence on a scale: the first case is notable, and the second makes the conclusion stronger. Readers should infer that scale from the context, rather than assume the same person, action, or degree must appear in both clauses.

这家书店连晚上十点也开门,周末更晚关门。

Zhè jiā shūdiàn lián wǎnshang shí diǎn yě kāimén, zhōumò gèng wǎn guānmén.

This bookstore is open even at ten in the evening, and it closes even later on weekends.

The first clause focuses on the late opening time; the second says the closing time is later still on weekends.

连新来的同事都听懂了,做过这个项目的人更没问题。

Lián xīn lái de tóngshì dōu tīng dǒng le, zuò guo zhège xiàngmù de rén gèng méi wèntí.

Even the new colleague understood it; someone who has worked on this project will have even less trouble.

The speaker argues from a less experienced colleague to people with relevant project experience.

Build the two clauses

Put 连 immediately before the focused person, thing, time, or situation in the first clause. Put 也 or 都 after that focused phrase and before the rest of the predicate. Choose the focus that makes the first clause feel like meaningful evidence. The second clause states a parallel or related case, then uses 更 before the part being intensified. In many natural sentences, the repeated verb or idea is understood from context rather than repeated word for word.

With 连, both 也 and 都 can help mark an emphatic “even” case, and many sentences allow either: 连小李也来了 / 连小李都来了. Here 都 need not mean “all”; a single named person can be the focus. This differs from ordinary 也 “also” and the totalizing use of 都. Choose a natural expression in context rather than assigning 也 to one person and 都 only to groups.

连 focused phrase 也/都 first clause predicate , Second-clause subject or topic 更 stronger point

这份报告连经理也看过了,负责这个项目的同事更仔细地检查了每一页。

Zhè fèn bàogào lián jīnglǐ yě kàn guo le, fùzé zhège xiàngmù de tóngshì gèng zǐxì de jiǎnchá le měi yí yè.

Even the manager has read this report; the colleague in charge of the project checked every page even more carefully.

The context contrasts a manager’s general reading with a responsible colleague’s closer check; 更 modifies 仔细, the degree of care.

Use it in context

Use the construction when you want the listener to notice a scale or an increasing degree, not just a sequence of events. The clauses should contribute to one point, and the second should plausibly count as a stronger case in that context. That relationship may come from greater experience, a more demanding situation, a more extreme time, or an even higher degree. The sentence can be natural without repeating exactly the same predicate, provided the link between the two cases is clear.

连平时不喝咖啡的林老师都点了一杯,常来这家店的学生更不用说了。

Lián píngshí bù hē kāfēi de Lín lǎoshī dōu diǎn le yì bēi, cháng lái zhè jiā diàn de xuésheng gèng bú yòng shuō le.

Even Teacher Lin, who usually does not drink coffee, ordered a cup; that goes all the more for the students who often come to this shop.

更不用说了 means that the second case goes without saying in this context. It does not mean that the students need an explanation.

Statements are the most straightforward form. In the final example, 不是…吗 frames a rhetorical question asking the listener to agree with the speaker’s reasoning from experts to beginners. The question is not a neutral measurement of comprehension, and 更看不懂 alone does not make any question automatically natural. Choose a context that supports the inference.

这份说明连专业人员都看不懂,刚入门的学生不是更看不懂吗?

Zhè fèn shuōmíng lián zhuānyè rényuán dōu kàn bu dǒng, gāng rùmén de xuésheng bú shì gèng kàn bu dǒng ma?

Even experts cannot understand these instructions. Wouldn’t students who are just starting out find them even harder to understand?

The speaker reasons from experts to beginners and uses 不是…吗 to seek agreement. This is a context-dependent rhetorical inference, not a proven fact about every beginner.

A useful contrast

Compare the pattern with simple addition using 并且. 并且 connects another statement, but it does not by itself say that the new case is stronger or that the first case was surprising. Use 连……也/都……,……更…… when that scaling relationship matters. A different progression expression such as 不仅/不光……,还/而且…… also marks added information, but it is a neighboring pattern with its own form; this lesson focuses on the specific 连 and 更 construction in the outline.

连新来的同事都听懂了,做过这个项目的人更没问题。

Lián xīn lái de tóngshì dōu tīng dǒng le, zuò guo zhège xiàngmù de rén gèng méi wèntí.

Even the new colleague understood it; someone who has worked on this project will have even less trouble.

The speaker argues from a less experienced colleague to people with relevant project experience.

A quick way to check your sentence

  • Identify the focused case and place 连 directly before it.
  • Check that 也 or 都 follows the focused phrase and fits the intended inclusion.
  • Ask whether the second clause actually strengthens the first case in this context.
  • Place 更 before the strengthened point; make the link between the clauses clear.
  • If you only mean “and also,” consider whether simple addition expresses your meaning more accurately.

Frequently asked questions

Does 连 always go before a person?

No. It goes before the focused phrase, which may be a person, thing, time, or situation. Choose the phrase that forms the noteworthy first case.

Can I replace 更 with 并且?

Only if you mean simple addition and no longer need the stronger-case meaning. 并且 does not itself express the scaling relationship marked by 更 here.

Sourcehsk.cn-bj.ufileos.com · PDF page 397

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