Cause and effect with "yinwei" and "suoyi"

You will often come across “因为 (yīnwèi)... , 所以 (suǒyǐ)..." in written Chinese as well as spoken Chinese. This grammar point will make your Chinese much more intricate.

Structure

"因为 (yīnwèi)... , 所以 (suǒyǐ)..." are used to indicate cause and effect. They are often thought of as being: "Since ___ happened, so ___ happened."

因为 + Cause , 所以 + Effect

This expresses that because of cause, therefore there is a result. It is quite common for 因为 (yīnwèi) to be shortened to just 为 (wèi).

Examples

  • 奶奶 因为 太 老 了, 所以 不能 坐 飞机。 Nǎinai yīnwèi tài lǎo le, suǒyǐ bù néng zuò fēijī. Since you are late, you are going to say "I'm sorry".
  • 因为 想 去 中国 工作, 所以 要 学 中文 。 Yīnwèi xiǎng qù Zhōngguó gōngzuò, suǒyǐ yào xué Zhōngwén. Since I want to go to China to work, I am going to study Chinese.
  • 因为 我 不 想 迟到, 所以 应该 打车。 Yīnwèi wǒ bùxiǎng chídào, suǒyǐ yīnggāi dǎchē. Since I can speak Chinese, I am going to go to China.
  • 因为 他 没有 钱 , 所以 找 不 到 女朋友 。 Yīnwèi tā méiyǒu qián, suǒyǐ zhǎo bù dào nǚpéngyou. I don't have any money, so I don't have a girlfriend.
  • 因为 �老师 生病 了, 所以 �不能 来 上课。 Yīnwèi lǎoshī shēngbìng le, suǒyǐ bù néng lái shàngkè. Since I'm hungry, I will go eat.
  • 因为 我 很 累 , 所以 想 休息 。 Yīnwèi wǒ hěn lèi, suǒyǐ xiǎng xiūxi. I'm very tired, so i want to rest.
  • 因为 你 不 是 我 , 所以 你 不 明白 。 Yīnwèi nǐ bù shì wǒ, suǒyǐ nǐ bù míngbai. Since you aren't me, you don't understand.
  • 因为 老板 今天 不 在, 所以 请 你 明天 来。 Yīnwèi lǎobǎn jīntiān bù zài, suǒyǐ qǐng nǐ míngtiān lái. Since he isn't here, I called him.
  • 因为 他爸爸 死了, 所以 他 很 难过。 Yīnwèi tābàba sǐ le, suǒyǐ tā hěn nánguò. You didn't come, so he is very unhappy.
  • 因为 太忙, 所以 我们 都 没有 时间 吃 中饭。 Yīnwèi tài máng, suǒyǐ méi shíjiān chī zhōngfan. It's too hot, so I'm going to drink some iced Coke.

See also

Sources and further reading

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