Grammar

Extending a Topic Across Sentences

Topic extension develops an established subject by adding a relevant dimension, question, implication, or application. This lesson shows how to carry a reader from one sentence to the next while keeping the paragraph’s focus clear.

Established topic stated in a sentence 。 Related development or new information 。

Example sentence

老城区的改造，最初被视为一项基础设施工程。施工开始后，居民才发现，真正困难的并不是铺设管线，而是如何在改善居住条件的同时保留街区的日常生活。为此，规划团队把临时市场、通行路线和施工时段一并纳入方案。改造完成后，街区面貌改变了，原有的邻里交往也得以延续。

Lǎo chéngqū de gǎizào, zuìchū bèi shìwéi yí xiàng jīchǔ shèshī gōngchéng. Shīgōng kāishǐ hòu, jūmín cái fāxiàn, zhēnzhèng kùnnan de bìng bú shì pūshè guǎnxiàn, ér shì rúhé zài gǎishàn jūzhù tiáojiàn de tóngshí bǎoliú jiēqū de rìcháng shēnghuó. Wèi cǐ, guīhuà tuánduì bǎ línshí shìchǎng, tōngxíng lùxiàn hé shīgōng shíduàn yìbìng nárù fāng'àn. Gǎizào wánchéng hòu, jiēqū miànmào gǎibiàn le, yuányǒu de línlǐ jiāowǎng yě déyǐ yánxù.

The renovation of the old district was initially seen as an infrastructure project. Once construction began, residents realized that the real difficulty was not laying pipes but improving living conditions while preserving the neighborhood’s everyday life. To address this, the planning team included temporary markets, access routes and construction times in the plan. After the renovation, the neighborhood looked different, while its existing neighborly ties could continue.

A continuous passage: the project’s definition develops into a local concern, a planning response, and an outcome.

Read the full explanation and examples

What topic extension does

The outline identifies 话题延伸 (huàtí yánshēn, topic extension) as a sentence-group topic at levels 7–9. Here, extension means continuing an established subject by developing a connected aspect: a consequence, a practical question, a broader implication, or a new application. The later sentence should give readers a reason to follow the development. The outline supplies the scope and level, not evidence about which examination version a centre currently administers.

A continuous passage: the project’s definition develops into a local concern, a planning response, and an outcome.

Build the connection before widening the subject

A useful passage begins with a specific subject, adds a development that grows out of it, then explains what that development means. The link may be a cause, an observed complication, a response, or an implication. Make the link explicit when readers would otherwise have to guess. A paragraph can move from a narrow issue to a wider one, but the widening needs a bridge; a shared keyword by itself is not enough.

Established topic stated in a sentence 。 Related development or new information 。

Established topic stated in a sentence 。因此， Related development or new information 。

这项研究最初关注的是远程办公对个人效率的影响。数据收集一段时间后，团队注意到，效率变化往往与沟通方式有关，而不只是与工作地点有关。于是，研究问题延伸到组织如何安排协作。这个调整使结论能够解释更多实际差异，也提醒读者不要把地点本身当作唯一原因。

Zhè xiàng yánjiū zuìchū guānzhù de shì yuǎnchéng bàngōng duì gèrén xiàolǜ de yǐngxiǎng. Shùjù shōují yí duàn shíjiān hòu, tuánduì zhùyì dào, xiàolǜ biànhuà wǎngwǎng yǔ gōutōng fāngshì yǒuguān, ér bù zhǐ shì yǔ gōngzuò dìdiǎn yǒuguān. Yúshì, yánjiū wèntí yánshēn dào zǔzhī rúhé ānpái xiézuò. Zhège tiáozhěng shǐ jiélùn nénggòu jiěshì gèng duō shíjì chāyì, yě tíxǐng dúzhě búyào bǎ dìdiǎn běnshēn dàngzuò wéiyī yuányīn.

The study initially focused on the effect of remote work on individual productivity. After collecting data for a while, the team noticed that changes in productivity were often related to communication methods, not just work location. The research question therefore extended to how organizations arrange collaboration. This adjustment allowed the conclusions to explain more real-world differences and also reminded readers not to treat location itself as the sole cause.

于是 introduces the research team’s response to the observation about communication. 往往 qualifies that observation in the second sentence; it does not modify the final sentence. The paragraph extends the question from work location to how collaboration is organized.

The first sentence establishes the subject or question.
The next sentence adds a connected observation, complication, or new dimension.
A linking phrase such as 因此 (yīncǐ, therefore) signals a relationship; it does not create one if the reasoning is missing.
The final sentence can state an implication, application, or qualified conclusion.

Follow the information flow

Chinese topic extension often reuses an idea from the previous sentence and gives it a new role. A phrase such as 为此 (wèi cǐ, for this reason) points back to a difficulty or need; 于是 (yúshì, so/then) introduces a response or next step; 延伸到 (yánshēn dào, extend to) names a connected expansion. The passage about the river path first gives its original purpose, then introduces residents’ question, then shows how the design broadened. These expressions help readers track the link, but the relationship still has to make sense in context.

河岸的修复，原本只是为了防止水土流失。调查过程中，居民提出了另一个问题：能否沿河增设步道，连接学校、车站和社区活动中心？方案的内容因此从河岸防护延伸到日常通行网络的建设。如今，人们既能沿河散步，也能借这条路线更方便地到达公共设施。

Hé’àn de xiūfù, yuánběn zhǐ shì wèile fángzhǐ shuǐtǔ liúshī. Diàochá guòchéng zhōng, jūmín tíchū le lìng yí ge wèntí: néngfǒu yán hé zēngshè bùdào, liánjiē xuéxiào, chēzhàn hé shèqū huódòng zhōngxīn? Fāng’àn de nèiróng yīncǐ cóng hé’àn fánghù yánshēn dào rìcháng tōngxíng wǎngluò de jiànshè. Rújīn, rénmen jì néng yán hé sànbù, yě néng jiè zhè tiáo lùxiàn gèng fāngbiàn de dàodá gōnggòng shèshī.

The riverbank restoration was originally intended only to prevent soil erosion. During the survey, residents raised another question: could a riverside path be added to connect the school, station and community activity center? The plan therefore expanded from bank protection to building a network for everyday travel. People can now walk along the river and use this route to reach public facilities more easily.

The passage expands the project’s purpose through a question that arises during research.

Test whether the extension is earned

When revising, underline the subject in the opening sentence and identify what the next sentence adds. Then ask: can I explain the connection in one plain sentence? If not, add the missing intermediate idea or narrow the claim. The culture example works because the interviews reveal that recipes connect to migration, family roles, and memory; the exhibition’s wider focus follows from that discovery.

展览的策划从地方饮食入手。访谈中，策展人发现，菜谱背后还连着迁徙经历、家庭分工和节庆记忆。因此，展览没有停留在展示食物，而是进一步呈现人们如何通过饮食讲述身份与归属。观众由此看到，一道菜的意义可以超出味道和做法。

Zhǎnlǎn de cèhuà cóng dìfāng yǐnshí rùshǒu. Fǎngtán zhōng, cèzhǎnrén fāxiàn, càipǔ bèihòu hái liánzhe qiānxǐ jīnglì, jiātíng fēngōng hé jiéqìng jìyì. Yīncǐ, zhǎnlǎn méiyǒu tíngliú zài zhǎnshì shíwù, ér shì jìnyíbù chéngxiàn rénmen rúhé tōngguò yǐnshí jiǎngshù shēnfèn yǔ guīshǔ. Guānzhòng yóucǐ kàndào, yí dào cài de yìyì kěyǐ chāochū wèidào hé zuòfǎ.

The exhibition was planned by starting with local food. In interviews, the curator discovered that recipes were also connected to migration experiences, family roles, and memories of festivals. For this reason, the exhibition did not stop at displaying food, but went further to show how people use food to tell stories about identity and belonging. Visitors thus see that a dish can mean more than its taste and preparation.

The broader exhibition theme is motivated by what the interviews revealed.

政策讨论从公共交通的可及性延伸到城市公平。

Zhèngcè tǎolùn cóng gōnggòng jiāotōng de kějíxìng yánshēn dào chéngshì gōngpíng.

The policy discussion extended from the accessibility of public transport to urban fairness.

A grammatical, concise statement of a related topic extension. Transit accessibility and urban equity have an intelligible connection. Readers who need detail can be given an intermediate explanation, but the sentence is not an error merely because it leaves that detail implicit.

政策讨论从公共交通的可及性延伸到交通服务如何影响城市公平。

Zhèngcè tǎolùn cóng gōnggòng jiāotōng de kějíxìng yánshēn dào jiāotōng fúwù rúhé yǐngxiǎng chéngshì gōngpíng.

The policy discussion extended from the accessibility of public transport to how transport services affect urban fairness.

An equally grammatical, more explicit alternative. It names how transport services affect equity. This elaboration can help a reader who needs the connection stated; it does not correct a grammatical error in the shorter sentence.

A practical drafting sequence

Draft a four-sentence passage by filling these roles: (1) establish a concrete topic; (2) add a discovery, difficulty, or question; (3) show a response or connected expansion; (4) state a result or implication. Read the passage without its linking expressions: if the reasoning still holds, the links are doing their job. If the topic seems to leap, make the missing relationship explicit. This approach keeps a multi-sentence passage coherent while allowing its information to develop.

Frequently asked questions

Does topic extension mean adding any new subject?

No. The new material should grow from an established subject through a clear and relevant relationship. If readers cannot see the bridge, state it or narrow the extension.

Can 因此 or 于是 make two sentences coherent by themselves?

No. These words signal a relationship such as consequence or next step. The surrounding ideas still need to support that relationship.

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